The last time the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings met in the playoffs, the home team won all seven of the games, and all seven were decided by a single goal. This time around, all three games have been decided by a single goal, but all three have been won by the road team.
If that trend continues on Wednesday night, we're going to have a whole new series after four games between these instate rivals.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
It was a little surprising to see the Sharks only favored by a -114 margin on their home ice in Game 3, but it should be noted that all of the pressure was on the Kings to draw their first blood of this series. They did just that, and now the pressure is back on San Jose. You'll see the oddsmakers react accordingly, likely favoring the home team by at least a -125 margin.
The total just continues to dip in this series, and for good reason. The last two games have featured a total of just six goals, and the number to beat could end up dipping into that uncharted 4.5 territory.
GOALIE REPORT
Martin Jones and Jonathan Quick really went at it on Monday night for the second straight game. The stats will tell you that neither man was pressed all that hard with a total of just 54 shots on goal, but there were some incredibly tense moments along the way for sure near both nets.
Quick, in particular, had his best game for our money. He stopped 29-of-30 shots, including all 23 faced from the second period on, and that momentum could be huge for him going forward into Wednesday's pivotal Game 4.
LIVE BETTING
The Sharks had their chances in the third period and just couldn't take advantage. They failed on a pair of power plays in the middle of the period and couldn't really generate much in the way of shots.
It was a stark contrast from Games 1 and 2 when Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture each found the back of the net on the man advantage.
In fairness, the Kings' penalty kill is much better than an 81.4 percent suggests from the regular season, but San Jose has to take advantage, especially when it gets nearly consecutive penalties as was the case in the third on Monday.
QUICK PICK
This is the game where we're really going to see what San Jose is made of. The Sharks have coughed up one of their two home games, and they really need to hold home ice here to put all of the pressure right back on the Kings as the series shifts back to the Staples Center.
We're also going to learn a lot about Jones here. The goal he allowed in overtime in Game 3 wasn't particularly difficult. Will he bounce back and lead his Sharks on a potential Stanley Cup run, or will he end up looking like Steve Mason as if he was a deer in headlights the rest of the way?
We trust that these Sharks are different from the ones of yesteryear which would go on and lose a game like this by four goals. This will be the game San Jose proclaims itself as a legit Stanley Cup contender.
NHL Odds: Sharks 3, Kings 2
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