2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Sharks vs. Blackhawks Picks & Predictions

Last Updated on May 16, 2010 11:30 am by drew

Sharks-B’Hawks Pick

The 2010 Western Conference Finals get started on Sunday, here is a breakdown of the series featuring
San Jose and

Chicago.

Bet the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Sharks are the No. 1 seed in the West while the Blackhawks are the No. 2 seed.
Oddsmakers from online sports book BroburySports.com have made San Jose a slight favorite to win the series with a money line of -115 while the Blackhawks have a line of -105.

In four games during the regular season,
Chicago posted a 3-1 record against

San Jose. Three of the games were decided by one goal.

Chicago posted 17 goals in the series while the Sharks had 11.

Chicago took more shots in all four games, including two games where they had at least a 17-shot advantage.

The Sharks were 51-20-11 during the regular season for 113 points. The Sharks scored 264 goals while allowing 215.

San Jose won 24 games on the road during the season, which was tops of any team in the West. The Sharks defeated
Colorado 4-2 in the first round of the playoffs and then went on to beat

Detroit 4-1 in the second round. During the playoffs,

San Jose has averaged 3.1 goals and 37.4 shots per-game while allowing 2.5 goals and 28.1 shots. Evgeni Nabokov has started 10 of the 11 playoff games for

San Jose and has recorded 255 saves with a 90.7 save percentage.

Chicago was 52-22-8 during the season for 112 points. The 52 wins were the most of any team in the Western Conference.

Chicago also had 29 wins at home, which was tops in the conference. The Blackhawks scored 271 goals during the season, while allowing just 209. In the playoffs,
Chicago defeated
Nashville 4-2 in the first round and then followed up with a 4-2 series win over

Vancouver. The Blackhawks are averaging 3.3 goals and 32.1 shots per-game in the playoffs while allowing 2.7 goals and 28.1 shots per-game. Antti Niemi has played all 12 games in net for

Chicago and he has racked up 301 saves with a save percentage of 90.9.

This should be a very competitive series with the two top teams in the West displaying their stuff. For the series pick, we like

San Jose as they seem to have gotten over their funks of the past and seem destined to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. Both teams have the potential to score a lot of goals, so expect some lopsided games along the way until

San Jose finally wins the series in six or seven.

Our Stanley Cup Series Free Pick for this matchup is:
SAN JOSE -115
Stanley Cup Playoffs Betting Trends


CHICAGO is 4-7 ATS (-9.7 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest this season.

SAN JOSE is 35-15 ATS (+9.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.

CHICAGO is 125-128 ATS (+281.4 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 since 1996.

CHICAGO is 55-27 ATS (+18.5 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.

CHICAGO is 33-16 ATS (+8.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.

CHICAGO is 12-4 ATS (+7.1 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.

SAN JOSE is 8-12 ATS (-18.7 Units) in home games when playing with 3 or more days rest over the last 3 seasons.

SAN JOSE is 6-13 ATS (+6.0 Units) in home games revenging a home loss versus opponent over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History

SAN JOSE is 7-5 (+0.6 Units) against the spread versus

CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons 

SAN JOSE is 7-5-0 straight up against

CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons 

6 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+3.0 Units)

Stanley Cup Playoffs Injury Report


CHICAGO

[D] 03/27/2010 – Kim Johnsson out indefinitely ( Concussion ) 

SAN JOSE

[D] 05/06/2010 – Niclas Wallin "?" Saturday vs.

Detroit ( Lower Body ) 

Stanley Cup Playoffs Series Odds

San Jose Sharks -115

Chicago Blackhawks -105

Sharks vs. Blackhawks Series Schedule:

Sunday, May 16 at

San Jose, 3PM ET on NBC

Tuesday, May 18 at

San Jose, 10PM ET on VERSUS

Friday, May 21 at

Chicago, 8PM ET on VERSUS

Sunday, May 23 at

Chicago, 3PM ET on NBC

*Tuesday, May 25 at

San Jose, 9PM ET on VERSUS

*Thursday, May 27 at

Chicago, 8PM ET on VERSUS

*Saturday, May 29 at

San Jose, 8PM ET on VERSUS

*If Necessary
Bet the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Posted: 5/16/10 11:30AM ET