Blues vs. Sharks odds, NHL playoffs 2016: San Jose returns home as Game 3 betting favorite

San Jose is a -148 home favorite in Game 3 at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Blues would pay +128 if they are able to pull off the upset on the road.

The strength of San Jose’s power play has been well documented this postseason, and that unit’s impact was on display again in Game 2 converting on two of five power plays to lead the Sharks to a 4-0 road win over the Blues.

The penalty kill was also sharp for San Jose on Tuesday night, killing off all six of St. Louis’s power play attempts to improve to 17-for-18 on kills over the team’s last six games. If the Sharks continue to dominate on special teams they are going to be difficult to beat moving forward.

St. Louis shouldn’t be intimidated going into a hostile road atmosphere on Thursday. The Blues have won three straight road games and are 5-2 on the road this postseason per the OddsShark NHL Database.

The Blues gave up a goal to Tommy Wingels just two minutes and seven seconds into Game 2, which wound up being a pretty good indication of how the rest of the night was going to go. Neither team ever really got into a rhythm 5-on-5 with 11 power plays doled out by the referees, but the Sharks were clearly a step ahead in both zones. St. Louis has bounced back from losses well this postseason with a 5-1 record in six games coming off a loss.

Thursday night’s total is set at five goals. Each of the first two games in this series have gone UNDER the total.

After struggling at home during the regular season this year with an 18-20-3 record, the Sharks have flipped the script in the playoffs and played very well at home. But the Blues have also been great on the road, and in a series that will likely take six or seven games to decide, there could be value on the underdog on a game-by-game basis.