After a 7-0 Game 1 beatdown, the San Jose Sharks picked themselves up off the mat and announced their arrival in their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal with the Vegas Golden Knights, winning a 4-3 OT thriller to even things at one game apiece.
The Knights will try to take back home-ice advantage tonight as the series shifts to California for Game 3 at the SAP Center (10:00 PM ET, April 30). The opening moneyline, puckline, and O/U, plus the key stats, significant injury news, and final score prediction are below.
Straight-up playoff prediction record: 9-4
Moneyline playoff prediction profits (based on $100 wagers): +$307.00
Opening Odds
| MONEYLINE | PUCKLINE | O/U GOALS |
|---|---|---|
| KNIGHTS (+118) | BRUINS +1.5 (-265) | OVER 5.5 (+116) |
| SHARKS (-130) | SHARKS -1.5 (+225) | UNDER 5.5 (-128) |
Unlike Game 1, which saw Vegas romp from the opening faceoff, Game 2 was a seesaw affair. Vegas opened up a 2-0 lead only to see San Jose race back with three unanswered while largely controlling the play. Nate Schmidt tied it in the third on a goal that Martin Jones (.931 SV%, 2.07 GAA in playoffs) would probably like to have back.
The overtime periods witnessed more back-and-forth action, and the home crowd was briefly thrown into elation when it looked like Jonathan Marchessault had won it at the 17-minute mark of the first OT. But the would-be winner was called back for goaltender interference.
San Jose wound up outshooting Vegas … 47-29 [in Game 2] while going 2-7 on the power play and 2-2 on the penalty kill.
Five minutes into the second OT, Vegas defenseman John Merrill took a hooking penalty, and Logan Couture sniped one top-cheddar on Marc-Andre Fleury (.967 SV%, 1.00 GAA in playoffs) just seven seconds later, ending arguably the best game of the 2018 NHL playoffs.
San Jose wound up outshooting Vegas by a heavy 47-29 margin, while going 2-7 on the power play and 2-2 on the penalty kill.
The results on special teams were a pronounced turnaround from Game 1, when Vegas was 3-10 with the man advantage and San Jose was 0-5.
Key Injuries & Absences
| KNIGHTS | SHARKS |
|---|---|
| Luca Sbisa: Out (hand) | Joe Thornton: Uncertain (knee) |
| Clayton Stoner: Out (abdominals) |
Don’t expect any of the names listed above to suit up in Game 3, and don’t expect that to matter.
Thornton was recently activated from IR, but hasn’t played all postseason. He’s nearing 40, was always slow even in his younger days, and wouldn’t be anything more than a PP specialist against this speedy Vegas team.
Sbisa, a depth defenseman, hasn’t played since February, and Stoner hasn’t played all season.
The big difference between tonight’s lineups and the Game 2 lineups is the return of San Jose winger Evander Kane (), who was suspended for Game 2 for this crosscheck on Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.
Regular Season Team Stats
| KNIGHTS | STATISTIC | SHARKS |
|---|---|---|
| 51-24-7 (29-10-2 Home) | REGULAR-SEASON RECORD | 54-23-5 (29-10-2 Home) |
| 3-0-1 | REGULAR-SEASON HEAD-TO-HEAD | 1-2-1 |
| +44 | GOAL DIFFERENCE | +23 |
| 272 | GOALS FOR | 252 |
| 228 | GOALS AGAINST | 229 |
| 51.5% (8th) | FENWICK % | 52.24% (6th) |
| 21.4% (11th) | POWER PLAY % | 20.7 (15th) |
| 81.4% (10th) | PENALTY KILL % | 84.8% (2nd) |
| .911% (11th) | TEAM SV% | .909% (T 13th) |
Betting Results & Trends*
| KNIGHTS | TREND | SHARKS |
|---|---|---|
| Lost 1 | WIN/LOSS STREAK | Won 1 |
| 7-3 | LAST 10 | 6-4 |
| 54-34 | PUCKLINE RECORD | 43-45 |
| 44-40-4 | OVER/UNDER SPLIT | 40-45-3 |
| Over 2 | OVER/UNDER STREAK | Over 2 |
*All statistics date back to regular season.
Score Prediction
| KNIGHTS | 3 |
| SHARKS | 2 |
San Jose has been one of the better road teams in the NHL (20-14-7 away, regular season) all year and showed it in Game 2. But Vegas (22-14-5 away) was an equally tough out in the regular season and played two solid road games in LA in round one. While they were outshot by double digits in both, they didn’t give up a ton of quality scoring chances and counter attacked effectively with their speed.
[Vegas] will get outshot again … but the way Fleury has been playing and the way [the Knights generate] scoring chances off small errors … [they] are the better value.
Expect Gerard Gallant to employ a similar game play against San Jose in Game 3: keep the Sharks to the outside, let Fleury make easy saves, and attack with pace off the rush. They will get outshot again — you can pretty much count on that — but the way Fleury has been playing and the way his team can generate good scoring chances off small errors and lapses, it’s a decent game plan.
The Knights at +115 are the better value in what should be a low-scoring, one-goal game.
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