| Thursday, Apr 26, 2018 - NHL SERIES Hockey Game | |||
| 877 | Sharks Series Prices | +108 | |
| 878 | Golden Knights Series Prices | -128 | |
| 879 | Jets Series Prices | +120 | |
| 880 | Predators Series Prices | -140 | |
| 883 | Penguins Series Prices | -118 | |
| 884 | Capitals Series Prices | -102 |
<tbody>
</tbody>
to add
Pittsburgh has beatin Washington two years in a row, with Wash having, both ,home ice each time AND superior lineups. That is to say, Washington got weaker on paper over last summer - how can they have not? they lost defensemen Schmidt and Statterkirk, Williams, Johansson!?!?! ................ Pittsburgh is clearly stronger on paper this time around- LeTang is back, their number 1 defensemen . And they got Brassard from Ottawa- a very competent 3rd line C.
same coaching staffs.
Pittsburgh should be the favorite despite Wash having home ice and seeded higher.
I agree....Good luck!
Marc-Andre Fleury and Martin Jones allowed just seven(!) goals combined in the first round.
They'll be front and center again in Round 2.
They'll be front and center again in Round 2.
Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights
Fleury used an active style in the sweep of the Los Angeles Kings, allowing three goals and finishing with a .977 save percentage and two shutouts. He is long past the puck-chasing habits that led to playoff letdowns in previous seasons, but there are signs of the old, more aggressive Fleury in his first season with Dave Prior, the Vegas goaltending coach. Fleury has blended those new positional preferences with the improved post integration that helped turned his career around with the Pittsburgh Penguins. There were trends that come from painting outside the lines of his crease more often in the regular season, even if the Kings failed to take advantage in the first round.
Goal trends
Off pads for rebounds, over to score: Fleury gave up 22 percent of his tracked goals on rebounds and tends to kick out low shots with active pads rather than steer them into corners with his stick. As good as he was at controlling high shots against the Kings, there were second chances off his pads. Getting to rebounds hasn't been easy against the Golden Knights, but when it happens, it is imperative those rebounds are shot over his leg pads, because Fleury is rarely out of a play laterally along the ice.
Off the rush: Prior wants his goalie to hold ground rather than flow backward with the rush and, as fast as Fleury is, that tendency can be attacked with lateral plays. Fleury gave up 49 percent of the tracked regular-season goals off the rush, significantly more than the 38.5 percent average for goals tracked while breaking down playoff starting goalies for this project during the past two seasons. There were several scored quickly after the attacking team set up in the Vegas end, a trend that continued with a backdoor tap-in for Kings forward Alex Iafallo in Game 3. Vegas was slow to sort defensive-zone coverage on several goals in the regular season, but Fleury's more aggressive positioning also played a role by leaving more lateral distance to recover.
Different rush strategy: The Sharks will need to adjust their rush attack, which featured attempts to pull the puck back to exploit the tendency of Anaheim Ducks goalie John Gibson to slide across on these plays. Fleury is more likely to beat those passes on his skates, making one-timers and quick shots more effective.
Patience up high: Prior's preferences paid off on high shots, especially on the glove side, with Fleury's mid- and high-glove goal totals 10 percent below average and well down from his totals last season. He showed off that glove in Game 4 against the Kings, getting a piece of great chances for Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown in the third period. The Sharks may want to look lower. Fleury allowed 19 five-hole goals among the past 103, including seven on clean shots when he was set and could see the release.
Fleury used an active style in the sweep of the Los Angeles Kings, allowing three goals and finishing with a .977 save percentage and two shutouts. He is long past the puck-chasing habits that led to playoff letdowns in previous seasons, but there are signs of the old, more aggressive Fleury in his first season with Dave Prior, the Vegas goaltending coach. Fleury has blended those new positional preferences with the improved post integration that helped turned his career around with the Pittsburgh Penguins. There were trends that come from painting outside the lines of his crease more often in the regular season, even if the Kings failed to take advantage in the first round.
Goal trends
Off pads for rebounds, over to score: Fleury gave up 22 percent of his tracked goals on rebounds and tends to kick out low shots with active pads rather than steer them into corners with his stick. As good as he was at controlling high shots against the Kings, there were second chances off his pads. Getting to rebounds hasn't been easy against the Golden Knights, but when it happens, it is imperative those rebounds are shot over his leg pads, because Fleury is rarely out of a play laterally along the ice.
Off the rush: Prior wants his goalie to hold ground rather than flow backward with the rush and, as fast as Fleury is, that tendency can be attacked with lateral plays. Fleury gave up 49 percent of the tracked regular-season goals off the rush, significantly more than the 38.5 percent average for goals tracked while breaking down playoff starting goalies for this project during the past two seasons. There were several scored quickly after the attacking team set up in the Vegas end, a trend that continued with a backdoor tap-in for Kings forward Alex Iafallo in Game 3. Vegas was slow to sort defensive-zone coverage on several goals in the regular season, but Fleury's more aggressive positioning also played a role by leaving more lateral distance to recover.
Different rush strategy: The Sharks will need to adjust their rush attack, which featured attempts to pull the puck back to exploit the tendency of Anaheim Ducks goalie John Gibson to slide across on these plays. Fleury is more likely to beat those passes on his skates, making one-timers and quick shots more effective.
Patience up high: Prior's preferences paid off on high shots, especially on the glove side, with Fleury's mid- and high-glove goal totals 10 percent below average and well down from his totals last season. He showed off that glove in Game 4 against the Kings, getting a piece of great chances for Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown in the third period. The Sharks may want to look lower. Fleury allowed 19 five-hole goals among the past 103, including seven on clean shots when he was set and could see the release.
Martin Jones, San Jose Sharks
Jones used a quieter positional approach in the sweep of the Ducks, allowing four goals with one shutout and a .970 save percentage. He stays mostly within the edge of his crease, beating plays with shorter, inside-out movements that force shooters to beat him around the edges of the net. It will be a significant adjustment for Vegas shooters after facing the athletic acrobatics and beyond-the-blue aggression of Kings goalie Jonathan Quick in the first round, but don't confuse Jones' calm demeanor and efficiency for a lack of intensity.
Goal trends
Left to right: Most goalies move better in one direction, and Jones has traditionally been better going to his glove side. A lack of early rotation moving toward his blocker leaves him more likely to push across flat instead of back toward his post. The result is a chasing of plays and being stranded outside his crease. This tendency has happened a lot less often this season, and even when the Ducks scored on a left-to-right power play one-timer in Game 3, it took a perfect against-the-grain shot over his glove to beat Jones.
Against the grain: Jones' against-the-grain goals allowed were almost double the average, and two of the Ducks' four goals in the series were scored this way. Playing deeper can leave goalies flat, or parallel to, the goal line in their movements, with less rotation of the back shoulder as they move, which creates a little exposure on these types of shots back the other way.
Low blocker, not high glove: At times in the first round, the Ducks appeared to be targeting Jones' glove, and though his deeper positioning can leave space in the upper corners of the net, a tendency to pull back with his shoulders off the release makes it harder to reach shots just above the pad on the blocker side. Anaheim scored there from long range early in Game 2, and Jones' 23 mid- and high-blocker goals, and seven under that arm, are above the averages for the goalies tracked during this project.
Low-high: Jones gave up 23 goals on low-high plays that start from a bad angle or below the goal line this season, which was above the average (18.3 percent) but down from the 33 he allowed in the 2016-17 regular season. Two of the four Ducks goals in the first round came on this type of play, so it will be interesting to see if the Golden Knights attack from below the goal line with one-timers and quick shots, which accounted for 48 percent of the tracked goals on Jones this season.
Jones used a quieter positional approach in the sweep of the Ducks, allowing four goals with one shutout and a .970 save percentage. He stays mostly within the edge of his crease, beating plays with shorter, inside-out movements that force shooters to beat him around the edges of the net. It will be a significant adjustment for Vegas shooters after facing the athletic acrobatics and beyond-the-blue aggression of Kings goalie Jonathan Quick in the first round, but don't confuse Jones' calm demeanor and efficiency for a lack of intensity.
Goal trends
Left to right: Most goalies move better in one direction, and Jones has traditionally been better going to his glove side. A lack of early rotation moving toward his blocker leaves him more likely to push across flat instead of back toward his post. The result is a chasing of plays and being stranded outside his crease. This tendency has happened a lot less often this season, and even when the Ducks scored on a left-to-right power play one-timer in Game 3, it took a perfect against-the-grain shot over his glove to beat Jones.
Against the grain: Jones' against-the-grain goals allowed were almost double the average, and two of the Ducks' four goals in the series were scored this way. Playing deeper can leave goalies flat, or parallel to, the goal line in their movements, with less rotation of the back shoulder as they move, which creates a little exposure on these types of shots back the other way.
Low blocker, not high glove: At times in the first round, the Ducks appeared to be targeting Jones' glove, and though his deeper positioning can leave space in the upper corners of the net, a tendency to pull back with his shoulders off the release makes it harder to reach shots just above the pad on the blocker side. Anaheim scored there from long range early in Game 2, and Jones' 23 mid- and high-blocker goals, and seven under that arm, are above the averages for the goalies tracked during this project.
Low-high: Jones gave up 23 goals on low-high plays that start from a bad angle or below the goal line this season, which was above the average (18.3 percent) but down from the 33 he allowed in the 2016-17 regular season. Two of the four Ducks goals in the first round came on this type of play, so it will be interesting to see if the Golden Knights attack from below the goal line with one-timers and quick shots, which accounted for 48 percent of the tracked goals on Jones this season.
Golden Knights vs. Sharks playoff preview.
The skinny
For the eighth time in NHL history -- and the second time in the past 22 years -- two teams will meet in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after each swept an opponent in the preceding best-of-7 series. The good news for the Vegas Golden Knights and the San Jose Sharks: Six of the previous eight times, the victor went on to win the Stanley Cup.
Vegas won three of the four regular-season games against San Jose with Jonathan Marchessault (six points), William Karlsson (five) and Shea Theodore (five) leading the way offensively.
In the playoffs, each team has tightened up defensively, with the Golden Knights allowing three goals in four games to the Los Angeles Kings, and the Sharks allowing four goals in four games against the Anaheim Ducks.
Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said the commitment to defense will ultimately determine how far they advance in the playoffs.
"I think that's the identity of our team," Gallant said. "People say we score a lot of goals, we're a good offensive club. I think when we played these games that meant a lot to us, really important games, if you look back at these key games, we always had a great defensive game."
Each team will have a lengthy break before the series begins with Game 1 at Vegas on Thursday. Vegas eliminated Los Angeles on April 17; San Jose advanced by defeating Anaheim on April 18.
"You definitely have to do some planning on how this is going to go," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "We're going to try to keep our rhythm of a series going. Go hard, and then easy, and then hard. That's the thought process behind it."
The Golden Knights had a few days off before resuming practice, and mixed in a little scrimmaging to stay sharp.
"We know them, they know us," Gallant said. "We've played each other four times. You watch a lot of their games because you're on the West Coast. They're a good, solid hockey team. They remind you of L.A. a lot. They've been to a Stanley Cup Final a few years ago (2016). They have a lot of experience and they have a lot of good hockey players. We'll see what happens."
The skinny
For the eighth time in NHL history -- and the second time in the past 22 years -- two teams will meet in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after each swept an opponent in the preceding best-of-7 series. The good news for the Vegas Golden Knights and the San Jose Sharks: Six of the previous eight times, the victor went on to win the Stanley Cup.
Vegas won three of the four regular-season games against San Jose with Jonathan Marchessault (six points), William Karlsson (five) and Shea Theodore (five) leading the way offensively.
In the playoffs, each team has tightened up defensively, with the Golden Knights allowing three goals in four games to the Los Angeles Kings, and the Sharks allowing four goals in four games against the Anaheim Ducks.
Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said the commitment to defense will ultimately determine how far they advance in the playoffs.
"I think that's the identity of our team," Gallant said. "People say we score a lot of goals, we're a good offensive club. I think when we played these games that meant a lot to us, really important games, if you look back at these key games, we always had a great defensive game."
Each team will have a lengthy break before the series begins with Game 1 at Vegas on Thursday. Vegas eliminated Los Angeles on April 17; San Jose advanced by defeating Anaheim on April 18.
"You definitely have to do some planning on how this is going to go," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "We're going to try to keep our rhythm of a series going. Go hard, and then easy, and then hard. That's the thought process behind it."
The Golden Knights had a few days off before resuming practice, and mixed in a little scrimmaging to stay sharp.
"We know them, they know us," Gallant said. "We've played each other four times. You watch a lot of their games because you're on the West Coast. They're a good, solid hockey team. They remind you of L.A. a lot. They've been to a Stanley Cup Final a few years ago (2016). They have a lot of experience and they have a lot of good hockey players. We'll see what happens."
Game breaker
Sharks: Center Logan Couture had a San Jose-high 34-goals in the regular season, and with Joe Pavelski gives San Jose a strong one-two scoring punch down the middle. When San Jose reached the Stanley Cup Final two years ago, Couture led the playoffs with 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists) in 24 games, six more than the runner-up, Sharks defenseman Brent Burns.
Golden Knights: Center William Karlsson was limited to one goal against the Kings but scored 43 in the regular season after combining for 18 in his first four NHL seasons. Karlsson was their most reliable scorer in the regular season; he had 14 more goals than runner-up Erik Haula. Expect Karlsson to see a lot of defensemen Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun in this series.
Sharks: Center Logan Couture had a San Jose-high 34-goals in the regular season, and with Joe Pavelski gives San Jose a strong one-two scoring punch down the middle. When San Jose reached the Stanley Cup Final two years ago, Couture led the playoffs with 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists) in 24 games, six more than the runner-up, Sharks defenseman Brent Burns.
Golden Knights: Center William Karlsson was limited to one goal against the Kings but scored 43 in the regular season after combining for 18 in his first four NHL seasons. Karlsson was their most reliable scorer in the regular season; he had 14 more goals than runner-up Erik Haula. Expect Karlsson to see a lot of defensemen Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun in this series.
X-factor
Sharks: Forward Marcus Sorensen scored five regular-season goals in 32 games but had three in the first round, contributing to the balanced attack that helped San Jose score 16 goals in the series. Sorensen, 26, was signed as a free agent May 13, 2016 and has spent most of his first two professional seasons playing for their American Hockey League affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.
Golden Knights: Forward Reilly Smith missed 15 games down the stretch recovering from an upper-body injury before returning for the regular-season finale against the Calgary Flames. Smith, 27, a fixture on the top line with Karlsson and Marchessault, had three assists against Los Angeles but hasn't scored since March 2 against the Ottawa Senators. Smith, who scored 22 goals during the regular season, is capable of a break-out series.
Sharks: Forward Marcus Sorensen scored five regular-season goals in 32 games but had three in the first round, contributing to the balanced attack that helped San Jose score 16 goals in the series. Sorensen, 26, was signed as a free agent May 13, 2016 and has spent most of his first two professional seasons playing for their American Hockey League affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.
Golden Knights: Forward Reilly Smith missed 15 games down the stretch recovering from an upper-body injury before returning for the regular-season finale against the Calgary Flames. Smith, 27, a fixture on the top line with Karlsson and Marchessault, had three assists against Los Angeles but hasn't scored since March 2 against the Ottawa Senators. Smith, who scored 22 goals during the regular season, is capable of a break-out series.
Goaltending
Sharks: Martin Jones, who led the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs in games (24), minutes (1,473) and shutouts (three), had an exceptional start to the 2018 playoffs, going 4-0 in the opening round with a 1.00 goals-against average, a .970 save percentage and one shutout.
Golden Knights: Marc-Andre Fleury is a three-time Stanley Cup champion who, at 33, seems to be getting better. In the first round, he had two shutouts in four starts with a 0.65 goals-against average and a .977 save percentage, making him the fifth goaltender in the NHL's expansion era (1967-68) to win four games of a playoff series with a goals-against average of 0.70 or less.
Sharks: Martin Jones, who led the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs in games (24), minutes (1,473) and shutouts (three), had an exceptional start to the 2018 playoffs, going 4-0 in the opening round with a 1.00 goals-against average, a .970 save percentage and one shutout.
Golden Knights: Marc-Andre Fleury is a three-time Stanley Cup champion who, at 33, seems to be getting better. In the first round, he had two shutouts in four starts with a 0.65 goals-against average and a .977 save percentage, making him the fifth goaltender in the NHL's expansion era (1967-68) to win four games of a playoff series with a goals-against average of 0.70 or less.
[h=5]Numbers to know[/h]Sharks: With Burns and forward Evander Kane, the Sharks have two of the five players this season who took more than 300 shots in the regular season (Burns, 332, third; Kane, 307, fourth). If the Sharks want to get to Fleury more effectively than the Kings did, they will need Burns and Kane to keep getting a lot of pucks to the net. Kane had 21 shots in the first round; Burns had 15.
Golden Knights: Their power play struggled in the first round, scoring on one of 12 chances (8.3 percent) after finishing tied for ninth in the regular season (21.4 percent). The matchup won't get any easier against the Sharks, who finished second in the regular-season in penalty-killing percentage (84.8 percent) and were seventh (83.3 percent) in the first round.
Golden Knights: Their power play struggled in the first round, scoring on one of 12 chances (8.3 percent) after finishing tied for ninth in the regular season (21.4 percent). The matchup won't get any easier against the Sharks, who finished second in the regular-season in penalty-killing percentage (84.8 percent) and were seventh (83.3 percent) in the first round.
[h=5]They said it[/h]"We just won four straight against a great hockey team, and I'd be an idiot to make lineup changes." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer
"A guy (Fleury) who has three Stanley Cups, you wouldn't think he has to prove anything. But that's the kind of competitive guy he is, and I love having him behind us. He's been our backbone and our captain all year." -- Golden Knights forward James Neal
"A guy (Fleury) who has three Stanley Cups, you wouldn't think he has to prove anything. But that's the kind of competitive guy he is, and I love having him behind us. He's been our backbone and our captain all year." -- Golden Knights forward James Neal
Will win if ...
Sharks: They continue to get balanced scoring. They followed a regular season when they had 13 players score at least 30 points with a first round when eight of their 12 forwards scored at least three points in the four-game sweep of Anaheim. There was a time when they relied heavily on a small group of players to produce offense, but this season's group has depth up front.
Golden Knights: They maintain their season-long, home-ice advantage. Their 29 regular-season home wins were tied for third in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning (behind the Winnipeg Jets, 32, and Pittsburgh Penguins, 30) and they had a plus-44 goal differential at home (146-102). The crowd at T-Mobile Arena was one of the most inspiring in the NHL, and in what figures to be a close series, the home-ice advantage may tip the balance their way.
Sharks: They continue to get balanced scoring. They followed a regular season when they had 13 players score at least 30 points with a first round when eight of their 12 forwards scored at least three points in the four-game sweep of Anaheim. There was a time when they relied heavily on a small group of players to produce offense, but this season's group has depth up front.
Golden Knights: They maintain their season-long, home-ice advantage. Their 29 regular-season home wins were tied for third in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning (behind the Winnipeg Jets, 32, and Pittsburgh Penguins, 30) and they had a plus-44 goal differential at home (146-102). The crowd at T-Mobile Arena was one of the most inspiring in the NHL, and in what figures to be a close series, the home-ice advantage may tip the balance their way.
How they look
Sharks projected lineup
Evander Kane -- Joe Pavelski -- Joonas Donskoi
Tomas Hertl -- Logan Couture -- Mikkel Boedker
Timo Meier -- Chris Tierney -- Kevin Labanc
Melker Karlsson -- Eric Fehr -- Marcus Sorensen
Paul Martin -- Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon -- Dylan DeMelo
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched: Dylan Gambrell , Barclay Goodrow, Jannik Hansen, Joakim Ryan, Joel Ward
Injured: Joe Thornton (lower body)
Sharks projected lineup
Evander Kane -- Joe Pavelski -- Joonas Donskoi
Tomas Hertl -- Logan Couture -- Mikkel Boedker
Timo Meier -- Chris Tierney -- Kevin Labanc
Melker Karlsson -- Eric Fehr -- Marcus Sorensen
Paul Martin -- Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon -- Dylan DeMelo
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched: Dylan Gambrell , Barclay Goodrow, Jannik Hansen, Joakim Ryan, Joel Ward
Injured: Joe Thornton (lower body)
