Joel Ward came up with the Nashville Predators. He's never been the biggest scorer on the face of the earth, but he's a great grinder who seems to be in the right place at the right time this time of year. He was a fantastic pickup for the San Jose Sharks this season, and he's why the hosts have a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference Semifinals.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
The Sharks didn't always look the part of the big favorites in Game 1, but in the money period in the third, they were dominant and turned a 1-0 deficit into a 5-2 win.
Should San Jose have been lined at -152 in Game 1? Probably not. Nashville had itself a fighting chance every step of the way, and in the NHL playoffs where everything has been super tight, that's a big amount of chalk to be choking on.
The Sharks will again be relatively big favorites in Game 2, but things might be a little more level in this one since Nashville has to win it to avoid falling into an 0-2 hole.
GOALIE REPORT
What more could the Predators have asked Pekka Rinne to do? He stopped all 25 shots he faced in the first two periods before the wheels fell off in the third.
Still, Rinne needs some help from his team. The Predators got nothing to the net in the third period whatsoever, and San Jose basically controlled the puck the entire last 20 minutes. He can't be facing this many shots in this series if Nashville is to have a shot to advance.
Martin Jones meanwhile, was once again a rock. He stopped 29-of-31 shots in Game 1 to pick up the win, and though he didn't have a ton of work to do in the third, he slammed the door shut when he had to.
LIVE BETTING
The big problem the Predators had in Game 1 sure looked like fatigue. Roman Josi in particular looked really tired. Peter Laviolette has asked his best players to play a ton of minutes the entire series against Anaheim in the last round, and the squad just looked finished in the third against the pressure of the Sharks.
Nashville hasn't left the West Coast in almost a week at this point, and it'll be interesting to see how it comes out of the gates in this one.
QUICK PICK
San Jose just continues to impress us. Every time the Sharks have been tested, they've come up with the goals to respond in the face of adversity.
Even when the Preds cut the 3-1 lead to 3-2 with under two minutes to play, the Sharks dumped two pucks in the empty net to come up with an emphatic triumph. It's not guys like Patrick Marleau or Logan Couture or Joe Pavelski or Joe Thornton doing the damage either. It's all of the role players of this team which is giving San Jose its best chance to win the Stanely Cup in years.
Don't let the seven total goals from Game 1 deter you. This is a low-scoring series waiting to happen, and the under should cash in a San Jose victory on Sunday night in Game 2.
NHL Odds: Sharks 3, Predators 1
Access live betting lines from your mobile device or tablet at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker's live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The matchup between the Nashville Predators and the San Jose Sharks will start at 8:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 1, 2016 at the SAP Center. Game 2 of this series will be televised live on NBC Sports Network.
