The San Jose Sharks were over 20 to 1 to win the Stanley Cup at the start of the postseason. Now, they're five wins away from their first ever championship. The St. Louis Blues are playing for their lives on Wednesday night, but they've got a lot of questions to answer in their locker room before they get back to San Jose.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
The tide of this series has clearly switched from a pick 'em approach to one where the Sharks are clearly looked upon as the better of the two teams. The Blues were favored in Game 5, but the margin was only -113. That tells us that San Jose is going to be a significantly greater favorite than that in Game 6 now that this series has shifted back to the SAP Center.
GOALIE REPORT
Martin Jones didn't look terribly comfortable in net in Game 5. He was beaten a ton by the Blues, but he was saved by his pipes more than a few times. It's almost like his defense did him too many favors, though. He didn't really have a lot of shots he had to face on net, not getting 10 his way in any period. He got the win, but he definitely has to be more confident than he was in Game 5 if he wants to close out this series.
Ken Hitchcock has a problem on his hands again. Jake Allen flat out wasn't good on Monday night. Even the loss wasn't solely on him, he allowed four goals.
Allen has now given up seven goals in his last two games. Brian Elliott was nowhere near that bad in any stretch of his postseason. Which man will be in the pipes on Wednesday? We'd go with Elliott, but it's a tough call for sure.
LIVE BETTING
The other real question we have with the Blues is what in the heck is wrong with this top line. Vladimir Tarasenko is now five games in without a single point in this series, and he really looked lost on the ice in the decisive period in Game 5. Tarasenko was pointing at all of his teammates time and time again, and for our money, he looked like a man who has no confidence whatsoever.
The Blues have had stretches in this series where they've been fantastic defensively, but they aren't beating the Sharks on the road without their superstar doing something – anything!
QUICK PICK
With the exception of Game 4 when St. Louis was completely dominant, the Sharks have been the better team in this series by a large amount. Their mistakes have been covered up thanks to great forechecking and awesome defense pinning the Blues to the boards time and time again. The Blues' mistakes all seem to be punished.
We just don't see any answer here for that awesome San Jose power play unit. The only way the Blues are winning this game is if they just don't commit any penalties. Joe Pavelski is one of the best finishers in hockey. Joe Thornton is one of the best passers in hockey. Logan Couture and Brent Burns are awesome at the point on the man advantage. There are just no answers whatsoever. Throw in Joel Ward playing some of the best hockey in his career, and you've got the makings of the best team in franchise history.
The Sharks deserve to finish this series off at home.
NHL Odds: Sharks 4, Blues 2
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