The Scottrade Center is playing host a Western Conference matchup as the San Jose Sharks pay a visit to Missouri to meet the St. Louis Blues. It’s the third and final time that the two clubs will meet in the regular season. This one gets going at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 27 and it is being shown live on NBC Sports California.
San Jose Sharks at St. Louis Blues Odds
San Jose is 44-32 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 4.3 units this year. Through 76 regular season outings, 41 of its games have gone under the total, while 32 have gone over and just two have pushed. This 2017-18 Sharks team is 20-18 SU on the road.
San Jose has converted on 20.7 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked first overall, and it’s successfully killed off 84.9 percent of its penalties.
For the team as a whole, the Sharks have been penalized just 3.3 times per game this season, and 2.4 per game over its last five on the road. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays just 5.8 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Boasting a .918 save percentage and 26.1 saves per game, Martin Jones (30-25-7) has been the primary option in goal for San Jose this season. Jones played last night, however, so head coach Peter Deboer may choose to rest him and go with Aaron Dell instead (15-12-3 record, .913 save percentage, 2.66 goals against average).
Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Sharks. Pavelski (60 points) is up to 19 goals and 41 assists, and has recorded two or more points in 12 different games. Burns has 11 goals and 49 assists to his credit (and has logged at least one point in 43 games).
On the other side of the ice, St. Louis is 42-33 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 2.3 units this year. 45 of its contests have gone under the total, while 29 have gone over and just one has pushed. The team’s 23-15 SU at home this season.
The Blues have converted on just 15.5 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a mark that places them in the bottom overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 15th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.6 percent of all penalties.
Blues skaters have been sent to the penalty box only 3.4 times per game in total this season, and 2.4 per game over their last ten match ups. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 6.4 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jake Allen has stopped 24.9 shots per game as the top selection in goal for the Blues. Allen has 26 wins, 27 losses, and two OT losses to his credit and has registered a pedestrian 2.68 goals against average and a poor .908 save percentage this year.
The home team will be led on offense by Brayden Schenn (25 goals, 38 assists).
San Jose Sharks vs. St. Louis Blues Free Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Blues, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Trends
Seven of San Jose’s last ten games have been decided by two goals or more. The team is 6-1 in those games.
San Jose has averaged 3.1 goals per game overall this year, but has raised it up to 4.8 per contest over their eight-game winning streak.
Penalties and power plays could play a critical role in tonight’s game. The Sharks are 18-18 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 33-24 when they’re in the box for fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Blues are 18-13 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 32-21 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
San Jose is 5-3 in games decided by a shootout this season while St. Louis is 3-0 in shootouts.
The under has hit in three of St. Louis’ last five outings.
St. Louis is putting up 2.8 goals per game in its last five games (the team’s a perfect 8-0 SU over that streak).
St. Louis has averaged 3.4 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 5.9 giveaways per game (ranked 1st).
San Jose is ranked 23rd this season with 10.3 giveaways per game. That figure has trended lower, however, as the team’s averaged 7.6 giveaways over its last 10 games and 7.8 giveaways over its last five.
The Blue Notes this season have registered the 11th-most hits in the NHL (22.7 per game), but that number has jumped up to 26.2 over their last five games as the home team.
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