Re: 2-4-10
Nick "BookieKiller" Parsons
San Jose -160
For a number of different reasons I believe the value in this game is on the Sharks:
The Western Conference leaders look for a seventh consecutive road victory when they open the second of three six-game trips Thursday night against the Blues.
San Jose (36-11-9) has the fewest road losses in the NHL with a 17-6-2 record away from home, and it hasn’t lost outside of HP Pavilion since falling 2-1 at Phoenix on Dec. 12. San Jose went 4-2-0 on a six-game swing from Oct. 15-25, and still has another trip of the same length March 14-23.
They are outscoring opponents 20-9 during their six-game winning streak. San Jose has also won eight of 10 at St. Louis, including a 3-1 victory Nov. 14. The Sharks are 2-0-1 this season against the Blues, who are 9-14-5 at home.
San Jose allowed four unanswered goals in a 4-2 loss to Detroit on Tuesday to conclude a 3-1-1 homestand.
Evgeni Nabokov made 33 saves against Detroit, but he allowed four goals for the second time in three starts. Nabokov, however, has a 1.86 goals-against average during his personal eight-game road winning streak and is 5-2-1 with a 2.60 GAA at St. Louis.
On the other side of the ice: St. Louis (25-22-9) returns home to face the top team in the West after a 3-2 win Wednesday at Chicago - the second-best club in the conference. The Blues are 8-5-3 since Davis Payne replaced the fired Andy Murray as coach on Jan. 2.
St. Louis's goaltenders have been hot, but I believe the emotional and hard fought victory less then 24 hours previous will be the Blues biggest enemy tonight as this is definitely a "letdown" spot.
Keep in mind though that the Blues actually struggle at the Scottrade Center as well; 4-11 their last 15 in front of the home town crowd.
Bottom line: No need to overanalyze this one; San Jose is well rested and looking to start off its long road trip with a concerted effort and catch a Blues team that struggles to get victories in front of the home town crowd and which is coming off a big road victory the night before; expect SAN JOSE to take advantage of this tired team and improve to a perfect 8-0 (+8 units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in its previous contest and for St. Louis to drop too 15-15 (-1.2 units) revenging a loss vs. an opponent!
8* SHARKS
Nick "BookieKiller" Parsons
San Jose -160
For a number of different reasons I believe the value in this game is on the Sharks:
The Western Conference leaders look for a seventh consecutive road victory when they open the second of three six-game trips Thursday night against the Blues.
San Jose (36-11-9) has the fewest road losses in the NHL with a 17-6-2 record away from home, and it hasn’t lost outside of HP Pavilion since falling 2-1 at Phoenix on Dec. 12. San Jose went 4-2-0 on a six-game swing from Oct. 15-25, and still has another trip of the same length March 14-23.
They are outscoring opponents 20-9 during their six-game winning streak. San Jose has also won eight of 10 at St. Louis, including a 3-1 victory Nov. 14. The Sharks are 2-0-1 this season against the Blues, who are 9-14-5 at home.
San Jose allowed four unanswered goals in a 4-2 loss to Detroit on Tuesday to conclude a 3-1-1 homestand.
Evgeni Nabokov made 33 saves against Detroit, but he allowed four goals for the second time in three starts. Nabokov, however, has a 1.86 goals-against average during his personal eight-game road winning streak and is 5-2-1 with a 2.60 GAA at St. Louis.
On the other side of the ice: St. Louis (25-22-9) returns home to face the top team in the West after a 3-2 win Wednesday at Chicago - the second-best club in the conference. The Blues are 8-5-3 since Davis Payne replaced the fired Andy Murray as coach on Jan. 2.
St. Louis's goaltenders have been hot, but I believe the emotional and hard fought victory less then 24 hours previous will be the Blues biggest enemy tonight as this is definitely a "letdown" spot.
Keep in mind though that the Blues actually struggle at the Scottrade Center as well; 4-11 their last 15 in front of the home town crowd.
Bottom line: No need to overanalyze this one; San Jose is well rested and looking to start off its long road trip with a concerted effort and catch a Blues team that struggles to get victories in front of the home town crowd and which is coming off a big road victory the night before; expect SAN JOSE to take advantage of this tired team and improve to a perfect 8-0 (+8 units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in its previous contest and for St. Louis to drop too 15-15 (-1.2 units) revenging a loss vs. an opponent!
8* SHARKS

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