Sharks vs. Blues Prediction
The San Jose Sharks lead the best-of-7 Western Conference Finals by a count of 2-1 entering tonight’s Game 4 at the St. Louis Blues. Will San Jose secure another road win to move one step closer to the Stanley Cup Finals?
Game Snapshot
17 San Jose Sharks at 18 St. Louis Blues
Friday, May 17, 2019
Scottrade Center at 8:08PM ET
TV: NBCSN
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Public Betting Information
According to oddsmakers, the Blues are a -140 favorite on the moneyline. The Sharks are a +120 underdog, while the over-under is set at 5.5 goals. As of Friday morning, 71 percent of public bets are being placed on host St. Louis. Check out our NHL Public Betting Page for the latest info.
Karlsson scores game-winner in OT
Erik Karlsson scored the winning goal in controversial fashion after a no-call on a hand pass Wednesday night as San Jose downed host St. Louis 5-4 in overtime. The game-winning goal came at the 14:37 mark of the extra session on assists from Gustav Nyquist and Timo Maier. Karlsson opened the scoring on an unassisted goal with 6:23 left in the first period, while Joe Thornton made it 2-0 a few minutes later off assists from Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Kevin Labanc. The Blues cut their deficit in half early in the second period, But a Thornton goal 18 seconds later on assists by Labanc and Brenden Dillon made it 3-1. St. Louis proceeded to score three more goals the rest of the third period to go up 4-3. With 1:01 remaining in the third period, Logan Couture scored his 14th goal of the postseason on assists from Joe Pavelski and Thornton to tie it at 4-4. Martin Jones secured 28 saves on 32 shots in the winning effort.
Blues fall short at home
St. Louis rallied in the second period, but ultimately could not hold on in a 5-4 home overtime loss versus San Jose in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. Alexander Steen scored 1:18 into the second period to cut the score to 2-1 with an assist going to Ivan Barbashev. The Sharks made it 3-1 shortly thereafter, but a goal by Vladimir Tarasenko at the 15:55 mark off assists from Brayden Schenn and Colton Parayko cut it back to 3-2. The Blues proceeded to tie it at 3-3 with 3:57 left in the second as David Perron scored with assists courtesy of Parayko and Joel Edmundson. Perron added a power play goal with 1:18 to go in the second off assists from Patrick Maroon and Parayko to put St. Louis ahead 4-3. It remained that way until the tying goal late in the third period before the Sharks won it in overtime. Jordan Binnington registered 27 saves on 32 shots between the pipes to take in the defeat.
NHL Betting Trends
San Jose
The Sharks are 3-7 in their last 10 road games. San Jose is 9-4 in its last 13 games overall.
St. Louis
The Blues are 17-7 in their last 24 home games. St. Louis is 8-3 in its last 11 Friday games.
Prediction:
The Blues are strong at home and as long as they tighten up defensively, they’ll be in good position to even this series. While the Eastern Conference Finals went by in the blink of an eye, this appears to be heading for a lengthy series. I’m taking the Blues to bounce back tonight behind a much better Binnington performance as he’ll come in with an extra edge after San Jose won it on a goal that probably should have been disallowed.
NHL DAILY PREDICTION: ST. LOUIS BLUES -140