The San Jose Sharks will be gunning for a sixth straight win on home ice and a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference Final when they play host to the St. Louis Blues in Game 3 on Thursday as -140 betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
San Jose seized home-ice advantage with a decisive 4-0 win in Game 2 on Tuesday, knotting up the series at a game apiece ahead of Thursday night’s Blues vs. Sharks betting matchup at the SAP Center.
The Sharks have been tough to beat on home ice, winning five straight, outscoring opponents by a 21-7 margin during the streak, and 10-1 in their past two, but are winless in their past two at home against the Blues
Entering their fifth postseason clash with St. Louis since 2000, the Sharks were pegged as +185 underdogs on the series prices despite a strong performance in the first two rounds. San Jose disposed of the favored Los Angeles Kings in five games before surviving a pair of overtime losses to Nashville en route a seven-game second-round win over the Predators.
But Tuesday’s win has shaken things up on the series prices, with both the Sharks and the Blues now sporting -110 odds to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
It has been a marathon postseason run for the Blues, who have played the maximum 16 games after going the distance in their previous two series, vanquishing the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks in their first-round matchup before outlasting the Dallas Stars.
St. Louis was outstanding on the road against the Stars, winning all three games in Dallas by a combined 14-4 margin, and had surrendered just 17 total goals in the nine games prior to their Game 2 defeat.
It was that kind of success that briefly powered the Blues to the top of the Stanley Cup odds, but with Tuesday’s loss they have slipped to +225, just ahead of San Jose, which has climbed to +325.
Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Penguins solidified their position atop the Stanley Cup odds with a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night to take a 2-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference Final.
The Penguins paid out as -130 favorites at the sportsbooks in their second straight win over Tampa Bay following four consecutive losses to the Lightning, who will look to rebound when the two teams meet again for Game 3 at Amalie Arena on Friday night.