It is agreed among sports betting pundits that the San Jose Sharks have outplayed the St. Louis Blues on both games of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs Western Conference Finals. The difference between game 1 (which the Blues won 2-1) and game (which the Sharks won 4-0) is that in the former San Jose outshot but did not outscore St. Louis, while they did both in the latter. To the surprise of no one betting on hockey, even Blues coach Ken Hitchcock admitted that “we didn’t play very well” after game 2.
A little more shocking is St. Louis center Patrik Berglund called game 1 the worst they’ve played in the postseason so far – and that’s the one they actually won. Once again, Hitchcock said that they got away with game 1; they tried to play the same way they did but did not get away with game 2 – I wonder why. At this point it’s fair to say that game 1 was a fluke and that lightning (not Tampa Bay) is not going to strike twice. In order to improve their sports betting on hockey odds, the Blues have to fix their mistakes from game 1 that they turned a blind eye on in game 2.
St. Louis needs to improve their defense, or at least keep it whole – seeing it is as often as not at a disadvantage. The fact that San Jose failed to capitalize on power plays in game 1 obviously did not mean the Blues could afford to get penalized and be none the worse for it – though that’s what they appeared to take away from it. As a matter of fact, it almost seems as if game 1 was a trap laid out by the Sharks to fool the Blues into believing they could get away with penalties, only to overwhelm them with their superior firepower (plays) in game 2. Impossible, you say? Or is it so possible your head is spinning like a top? It can’t be, you say? Or is your entire world just crashing down all around you?
By way of example, when St. Louis winger Troy Brouwer was sent to the box for a slash in the second period, San Jose’s Brent Burns made good on a pass from Joe Pavelski for a 2-0 lead last night. Then late in the third Burns scored again when Brouwer was sent away once more for high sticking. As Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com remarked, the Blues are doomed if they can’t stay out of the box in this series. And if you believe they can’t, then your sports betting money should be on the Sharks for game 3 tomorrow at the SAP Center.