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Sharks look to even series with Canucks Sunday
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
at SAN JOSE SHARKS
NHL Playoffs – Western Conference Finals
Game 3 – Vancouver leads series 2-1
Puck drops: Sunday, 3:05 p.m. EDT
Line: San Jose -115, Vancouver +105, Total: 5.5
San Jose ended its eight-game Conference Finals losing streak on Friday with a 4-3 win over the Canucks in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. The Sharks now have a chance to even the series before both teams go back to Vancouver for Game 5.
Too little, too late for Vancouver in Game 3, as it outscored the Sharks 3-1 in the third period, but was unable to overcome the three-goal deficit they put themselves in. The Canucks have now outscored the Sharks 9-2 in the third period this series, something they can look to exploit again in Game 4. Vancouver needs to tighten up its penalty kill, which has been nothing short of atrocious so far this series. The good news for the Canucks is that after allowing goals on their first five penalty-kill chances this series, they have held the Sharks to just one goal in their past eight power plays. Still, a penalty-kill pct. of 53.8 is not something to brag about, and unless the Canucks can consistently shut down the Sharks when they have the man advantage, San Jose can easily gain control of this series. Henrik Sedin is back in full force this series, leading the Canucks with six points (1 G, 5 A).
After succeeding on their only three power-play chance of the series in the first two games, the Sharks knew they had to do a better job at drawing more penalties. They did just that in Game 3, earning the man advantage 10 times and scoring on three. They now are 6-of-13 (46.2%) on the power play this series, after going 7-of-51 (13.7%) during the first two rounds of the postseason. Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau continued their outstanding play this series, as Marleau now has earned points in four straight games, scoring twice and getting an assist, while Thornton is tied with Henrik Sedin for most points this series with six (1 G, 5 A), after registering three assists in Game 3. Antti Niemi was solid when he needed to be, stopping 27 of 30 shots, but the Sharks must address their play in the final period. Dating back to Game 5 against the Red Wings, the Sharks have now been outscored 16-5 in the third period over that six-game stretch.
Now that their eight-game Conference Finals losing streak is behind them, perhaps the Sharks can forget about their past failures in this round and decide to make new history. Game 3 was a good start and I like them to carry that momentum into Game 4. I’m taking San Jose to send this series back to Vancouver tied at two games apiece.
The FoxSheets provide two more reasons to back the Sharks.
SAN JOSE is 23-10 ATS (69.7%, +9.8 Units) against good offensive teams - averaging 29.5+ shots on goal per game in the 2nd half of the year this season. The average score was SAN JOSE 3.2, OPPONENT 2.5 - (Rating = 1*).
SAN JOSE is 34-18 ATS (65.4%, +3.0 Units) against mistake-free teams - opponents average <=4 power plays/game in the 2nd half of the year this season. The average score was SAN JOSE 3.2, OPPONENT 2.6 - (Rating = 1*).
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
at SAN JOSE SHARKS
NHL Playoffs – Western Conference Finals
Game 3 – Vancouver leads series 2-1
Puck drops: Sunday, 3:05 p.m. EDT
Line: San Jose -115, Vancouver +105, Total: 5.5
San Jose ended its eight-game Conference Finals losing streak on Friday with a 4-3 win over the Canucks in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. The Sharks now have a chance to even the series before both teams go back to Vancouver for Game 5.
Too little, too late for Vancouver in Game 3, as it outscored the Sharks 3-1 in the third period, but was unable to overcome the three-goal deficit they put themselves in. The Canucks have now outscored the Sharks 9-2 in the third period this series, something they can look to exploit again in Game 4. Vancouver needs to tighten up its penalty kill, which has been nothing short of atrocious so far this series. The good news for the Canucks is that after allowing goals on their first five penalty-kill chances this series, they have held the Sharks to just one goal in their past eight power plays. Still, a penalty-kill pct. of 53.8 is not something to brag about, and unless the Canucks can consistently shut down the Sharks when they have the man advantage, San Jose can easily gain control of this series. Henrik Sedin is back in full force this series, leading the Canucks with six points (1 G, 5 A).
After succeeding on their only three power-play chance of the series in the first two games, the Sharks knew they had to do a better job at drawing more penalties. They did just that in Game 3, earning the man advantage 10 times and scoring on three. They now are 6-of-13 (46.2%) on the power play this series, after going 7-of-51 (13.7%) during the first two rounds of the postseason. Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau continued their outstanding play this series, as Marleau now has earned points in four straight games, scoring twice and getting an assist, while Thornton is tied with Henrik Sedin for most points this series with six (1 G, 5 A), after registering three assists in Game 3. Antti Niemi was solid when he needed to be, stopping 27 of 30 shots, but the Sharks must address their play in the final period. Dating back to Game 5 against the Red Wings, the Sharks have now been outscored 16-5 in the third period over that six-game stretch.
Now that their eight-game Conference Finals losing streak is behind them, perhaps the Sharks can forget about their past failures in this round and decide to make new history. Game 3 was a good start and I like them to carry that momentum into Game 4. I’m taking San Jose to send this series back to Vancouver tied at two games apiece.
The FoxSheets provide two more reasons to back the Sharks.
SAN JOSE is 23-10 ATS (69.7%, +9.8 Units) against good offensive teams - averaging 29.5+ shots on goal per game in the 2nd half of the year this season. The average score was SAN JOSE 3.2, OPPONENT 2.5 - (Rating = 1*).
SAN JOSE is 34-18 ATS (65.4%, +3.0 Units) against mistake-free teams - opponents average <=4 power plays/game in the 2nd half of the year this season. The average score was SAN JOSE 3.2, OPPONENT 2.6 - (Rating = 1*).
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