Golden Knights -1000 Favorites to Eliminate Sharks; Blues/Jets Series Odds Even
- Up 3-1, Vegas is on the brink of eliminating San Jose for the second straight year
- The St. Louis/Winnipeg series is tied at 2-2 and the home team has yet to win a game
- Oddsmakers list the Golden Knights as massive favorites, while Jets vs Blues is a toss-up
After the first two games in the series, the Vegas Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks were tied at one game apiece and roughly even in the odds to win their best-of-seven.
The Blues, on the other hand, were -800 favorites to bounce the Jets after winning the first two games in Winnipeg.
Fast forward two more games, and the odds have swung heavily in favor of Vegas (which dominated Games 3 and 4 on home ice, outscoring the Sharks 11-3, combined) and away from the Blues, who were badly outplayed in Game 3 (a 6-3 loss) and then lost a 2-1 OT heartbreaker in Game 4.
Golden Knights vs Sharks Playoff Series Odds
| Team | Odds to Win Series |
|---|---|
| Vegas Golden Knights | -1000 |
| San Jose Sharks | +600 |
*Odds taken on 04/17/19
Vegas Leaves Sharks Weak
If it weren’t for the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning collapsing like a house of cards, the hockey world would be focused on the way San Jose is coming apart at the seams.
With their Norris Trophy-winning duo of Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns, the Sharks were expected to be Stanley Cup contenders. But losing Marc-Edouard Vlasic, their best two-way defender, to injury in Game 2 has put the Sharks into a death spiral.
The Shark Reef is trolling San Jose. pic.twitter.com/lz2i4wJrxc
— David Tanenhaus (@david_tanenhaus) April 16, 2019
It’s so bad that even sharks are trolling the Sharks.
Jones Can’t Keep It Out
During the regular season, Sharks goalie Martin Jones posted an .896 save percentage, lowest of the 16 starting goalies in the playoffs. He’s been even worse in the postseason.
Martin Jones not available postgame because team “couldn’t find him” per spokesman and had to get DeBoer to the podium. OK then.
— Kevin Kurz (@KKurzNHL) April 17, 2019
Jones has fashioned an .838 save percentage and 5.33 goals-against average in this series, and been pulled from two games. Overall, he’s been hooked from four of 10 career playoff games against Vegas.
Marc-Andre Fleury earned his 78th career postseason win to move into sole possession of seventh place on the NHL’s all-time list. #NHLStats #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/k6qEKaBS0V
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 17, 2019
Meanwhile, Golden Knights netminder Marc-Andre Fleury posted his third shutout in 10 career postseason games against San Jose in Game 4 (a 5-0 win).
Stone Cold Dead
The Vegas forward line of Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny has outscored the Sharks 12-11.
The Pacioretty-Stastny-Stone line continues to dominate the San Jose Sharks. #VegasBorn
Series totals:
Max Pacioretty – 10 points (4G, 6A)
Mark Stone – 10 points (6G, 4A)
Paul Stastny – 8 Points (2G, 6A) pic.twitter.com/hM8QyIhoqA— Complete Hockey News (@CompleteHkyNews) April 17, 2019
This series is so over, as the odds suggest.
Blues vs Jets Playoff Series Odds
| Team | Odds to Win Series |
|---|---|
| St. Louis Blues | -110 |
| Winnipeg Jets | -110 |
*Odds taken on 04/17/19
Jets Give St. Louis the Blues
Before last spring, Winnipeg had never won a Stanley Cup series. Before last night, Winnipeg had never won a Stanley Cup overtime game.
Both of those have now changed, as has this series.
The Jets’ best players have been their best players. Game 4 overtime hero Kyle Conner has three goals.
Patrik Laine is the first player in @NHLJets / Thrashers franchise history to score in each of the team's first three games to begin a playoff year. #NHLStats #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/TiRo5bB9Ps
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 15, 2019
Patrik Laine set a franchise record with goals in the first three games.
Mark Scheifele of the @NHLJets (12-5—17 in 12 GP) joined Steve Payne (12-6—18 in 12 GP) as just the second player in NHL history to average at least one goal per game through their first 12 career road playoff contests. #NHLStats #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/XWiKTYyYPH
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 17, 2019
Mark Scheifele tied Game 4 and set up Conner for the OT winner.
Blues Have Traveled This Road Before
If there’s an NHL team that’s cornered the market on persistent playoff failure in this exact scenario, it’s St. Louis. This is the sixth time since 2013 that the Blues have been deadlocked 2-2 through four games of a series.
"Do I look ____?"
-The St. Louis Blues mantra during the 2018-19 season pic.twitter.com/WDmlcStHFk
— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) April 11, 2019
They are 0-5 in this situation and have lost all five series in six games. Twice – in 2014 against the Chicago Blackhawks and 2013 against the Los Angeles Kings – the Blues lost in six after taking a 2-0 series lead.
St Louis Blues have 1 Even Strength Goal in the last 143 minutes & 17 seconds of this Series.
Blues have been outscored 7-1 at Even Strength in that time span.
That equals losses.#stlblues
— STL Blues History (@STLBlueshistory) April 17, 2019
On the other hand, the Blues are 3-0 all-time in series when they take a 2-0 lead on the road. But the Jets have proven they can make things happen that have never happened before.
Put your money on Winnipeg for the win at -110.
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
