The first-round series between the Vegas Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks makes a venue change as they leave the SAP Center and face off at T-Mobile Arena for Game 3. Vegas heads home with a little momentum after picking up a 5-3 win in Game 2 with San Jose Sportsbook the series with a win. The Knights are a -150 favorite in this contest with San Jose coming back at +130 and the total Sportsbook at 6.5 goals.
Sharks vs Golden Knights Game Center
Standout Stats
- Both teams have scored five goals in their respective victories with San Jose collecting a 5-2 win to open the series, while Vegas claimed the second game with a 5-3 win.
- The Knights were a strong home team this year, sporting a record of 24-12-5 at T-Mobile Arena. That being said, the Sharks were no slouches on the road, going 21-16-4 in away games. Vegas averaged 0.40 more goals per game at home vs the road up to 3.20 gpg and ranked third in the league in fewest goals against in home games. Meanwhile, San Jose remained steady offensively in its home and away splits, but surrendered 0.59 more goals against on the road.
- San Jose has done a great job limiting shots against all season, but its goaltending hasn’t done its part. The Sharks restricted the Knights to 26 shots in Game 1 while clamping down in the second game and allowing just 23 shots, yet their goalies allowed a combined seven goals over those 49 shots. Martin Jones was between the pipes for the Sportsbook game and was quite effective turning aside 24-of-26 shots, but lasted just six minutes into Game 2 before being yanked for Aaron Dell after allowed three goals on seven shots.
- Like San Jose, Vegas had done a good job restricting shot attempts against its goal, but that has gone away in the first two games of this series. The Sharks fired 33 shots at Marc-Andre Fleury in Game 1 and upped the pressure in the second game to 37 shots, but the Knights goalie kicked away 34 of those 37 attempts. Additionally, Vegas has combined for 47 blocked shots this series which lowers the potential shot attempts on Fleury, it needs to find a way to slow the Sharks down.
- Mark Stone has made some impacts with his new team after being a trade deadline acquisition as he buried three goals thus far in the playoffs. Meanwhile, San Jose defensemen Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns have been relied on heavily to open the series, both logging over 25 minutes on the ice in the first two games, we will see how sustainable that is if this series goes long.
My Best Bet for San Jose vs Vegas
UNDER 6.5
The first two games at the SAP Center were very high paced and physical. I think the venue change may slow the pace a little bit as Vegas likes to do, come at its opponents in bursts rather than a full 60 minutes of pressure. I anticipate the Sharks to continue having struggles in the net as they have all season, but I think Fleury is going to thrive off the home fans like he normally does and put on a terrific shutdown performance.
