by Chuck Sommers
Thursday, Mar 02, 2023
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
Venue: SAP Center, San Jose, CA
Where to watch: BSMW, NBCSCA
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Sharks -120, Blues +100
FanDuel: Sharks -120, Blues +100
BetMGM: Sharks -120, Blues +100
Caesars: Sharks -120, Blues +100
Season record
Blues: 26-29-5
Sharks: 18-31-12
The All-Star break is over, the second half of the NHL season can officially begin, and we're bound for what should be a very exciting second half of the hockey season. Basketball and hockey are about to rule the roost in the sports betting world once the Super Bowl is done with, and we should all be very excited for what's to come. When the trade deadline hits and players switch teams, you know things are about to get hectic over these final 30 games or so. One way you can stay tuned with the action is following what our champion handicappers are doing in the world of the NHL. Look at ASA, Inc., reeling in a $6,750 profit off a 17-9-0 run. Al McMordie is also doing well on the ice with a 13-5-0 run and a net profit of $6,050. Scott Rickenbach has also been hanging strong with a lot of betting action, in what's been an unusual year, with a 24-18-0 run and reeling in $5,950. You know this action is going to be great now that games are back and a busy second half if on the horizon. All you need to do is head to our BEST BETS page at bigal.com to find out all of what we're trying to tell you. Make sure you're locked in at bigal.com and go to our Best Bets page to find out what our champion handicappers have to say in the world of the NHL!
Blues - Sharks preview, prediction and analysis
The St. Louis Blues will be playing the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, March 2 in San Jose, California.
The St. Louis Blues lost against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday, February 28 at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri with a score of 5-3. The St. Louis Blues currently rank 6th in the Central Division.
Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich each had a goal and an assist for the Blues (26-29-5), who have been outscored 26-11 during a six-game skid (0-4-2). Jordan Binnington made 21 saves in his 10th start over the past 11 games.
"I thought we were the better team after two periods," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. "Third period, we spent a little bit too much time in our end, and they got that fourth goal."
Morgan Geekie gave Seattle a 1-0 lead at 9:30 of the first period when he converted off a 2-on-1, snapping a shot off the bar and in on Binnington's glove side. Thomas tied it 1-1 at 5:11 of the second period with a short-handed goal, taking a puck up the left side of the ice and beating Jones from the top of the left face-off circle.
"You try and always finish on the plays short-handed at the net," Thomas said. "That's pretty much it. I don't think it got deflected. I think it was a little fan on my part. Sometimes you get lucky."
Jared McCann made it 2-1 at 6:57 after a Blues penalty expired on a slap shot from the left circle past Binnington. It was McCann's 27th goal, tying his NHL career high. Brandon Saad tied it 2-2 at 9:03 as the teams were playing 4-on-4 when he took a stretch pass from Nick Leddy and beat Jones on the glove side from inside the top of the left circle.
Geekie put the Kraken ahead 3-2 at 13:32 after tapping in a puck in front after Seattle won a face-off. Jamie Oleksiak extended it to 4-2 at 9:46 of the third period on a shot from the high slot through traffic.
Pavel Buchnevich cut it to 4-3 at 14:29 on a one-timer from the low left circle before Brandon Tanev scored an empty-net goal with seven seconds remaining for the 5-3 final.
St. Louis was 0-for-4 on the power play, extending its streak to 23 straight games without a goal on the man-advantage, an area the Blues feel is costing them points of late.
"Poor execution," St. Louis defenseman Torey Krug said. "We have a tendency to look for the pretty plays instead of just being direct and putting it towards the net and recovering pucks. That's usually when the pretty plays open up.
"I've got to do a better job of taking control and being a leader of the unit and try to calm things down, put guys in positions to succeed. It starts with one guy and hopefully it bleeds through the rest of the power play. If we're not scoring, we've got to at least get momentum for our team."
The St. Louis Blues have won three of their last 10 games.
The San Jose Sharks lost against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, February 28 at SAP Center in San Jose, California with a score of 3-1. The San Jose Sharks currently rank 7th in the Pacific Division.
Jacob MacDonald scored for the Sharks (18-31-12), who have lost three straight (0-2-1). Kaapo Kahkonen made 29 saves.
"I thought we were too loose," San Jose coach David Quinn said. "Even in the first two periods, we had some chances to go up 2-0 and just couldn't capitalize. We were just too loose at the end of the day. When you give up a 2-on-0 basically to lose the game, that's just not really having a conscience and not reading the situation."
MacDonald gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 1:43 of the first period on a shot through traffic for his first goal of the season and his first with San Jose after being acquired from the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 25.
"Our guys had a great forecheck," MacDonald said. "Puck just popped out to a good spot and I put it home."
Kaiden Guhle tied it 1-1 at 8:07 of the third period on a shot from beyond the face-off circles. It was his first game since a lower-body injury sustained Dec. 29. Jesse Ylonen put Montreal ahead 2-1 at 9:59 on a 2-on-0 with Rem Pitlick.
Christian Dvorak scored an empty-net goal with five seconds left for the 3-1 final.
The San Jose Sharks have won three of their last 10 games.
Prediction
The real winners are the friends we made along the way. Blues 5, Sharks 3
The St. Louis Blues lost against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday, February 28 at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri with a score of 5-3. The St. Louis Blues currently rank 6th in the Central Division.
Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich each had a goal and an assist for the Blues (26-29-5), who have been outscored 26-11 during a six-game skid (0-4-2). Jordan Binnington made 21 saves in his 10th start over the past 11 games.
"I thought we were the better team after two periods," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. "Third period, we spent a little bit too much time in our end, and they got that fourth goal."
Morgan Geekie gave Seattle a 1-0 lead at 9:30 of the first period when he converted off a 2-on-1, snapping a shot off the bar and in on Binnington's glove side. Thomas tied it 1-1 at 5:11 of the second period with a short-handed goal, taking a puck up the left side of the ice and beating Jones from the top of the left face-off circle.
"You try and always finish on the plays short-handed at the net," Thomas said. "That's pretty much it. I don't think it got deflected. I think it was a little fan on my part. Sometimes you get lucky."
Jared McCann made it 2-1 at 6:57 after a Blues penalty expired on a slap shot from the left circle past Binnington. It was McCann's 27th goal, tying his NHL career high. Brandon Saad tied it 2-2 at 9:03 as the teams were playing 4-on-4 when he took a stretch pass from Nick Leddy and beat Jones on the glove side from inside the top of the left circle.
Geekie put the Kraken ahead 3-2 at 13:32 after tapping in a puck in front after Seattle won a face-off. Jamie Oleksiak extended it to 4-2 at 9:46 of the third period on a shot from the high slot through traffic.
Pavel Buchnevich cut it to 4-3 at 14:29 on a one-timer from the low left circle before Brandon Tanev scored an empty-net goal with seven seconds remaining for the 5-3 final.
St. Louis was 0-for-4 on the power play, extending its streak to 23 straight games without a goal on the man-advantage, an area the Blues feel is costing them points of late.
"Poor execution," St. Louis defenseman Torey Krug said. "We have a tendency to look for the pretty plays instead of just being direct and putting it towards the net and recovering pucks. That's usually when the pretty plays open up.
"I've got to do a better job of taking control and being a leader of the unit and try to calm things down, put guys in positions to succeed. It starts with one guy and hopefully it bleeds through the rest of the power play. If we're not scoring, we've got to at least get momentum for our team."
The St. Louis Blues have won three of their last 10 games.
The San Jose Sharks lost against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, February 28 at SAP Center in San Jose, California with a score of 3-1. The San Jose Sharks currently rank 7th in the Pacific Division.
Jacob MacDonald scored for the Sharks (18-31-12), who have lost three straight (0-2-1). Kaapo Kahkonen made 29 saves.
"I thought we were too loose," San Jose coach David Quinn said. "Even in the first two periods, we had some chances to go up 2-0 and just couldn't capitalize. We were just too loose at the end of the day. When you give up a 2-on-0 basically to lose the game, that's just not really having a conscience and not reading the situation."
MacDonald gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 1:43 of the first period on a shot through traffic for his first goal of the season and his first with San Jose after being acquired from the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 25.
"Our guys had a great forecheck," MacDonald said. "Puck just popped out to a good spot and I put it home."
Kaiden Guhle tied it 1-1 at 8:07 of the third period on a shot from beyond the face-off circles. It was his first game since a lower-body injury sustained Dec. 29. Jesse Ylonen put Montreal ahead 2-1 at 9:59 on a 2-on-0 with Rem Pitlick.
Christian Dvorak scored an empty-net goal with five seconds left for the 3-1 final.
The San Jose Sharks have won three of their last 10 games.
Prediction
The real winners are the friends we made along the way. Blues 5, Sharks 3
Projected lines
Blues:
Kasperi Kapanen -- Robert Thomas -- Pavel Buchnevich
Brandon Saad -- Brayden Schenn -- Jordan Kyrou
Alexey Toropchenko -- Logan Brown -- Sammy Blais
Nathan Walker -- Nikita Alexandrov -- Tyler Pitlick
Nick Leddy -- Colton Parayko
Marco Scandella -- Justin Faulk
Torey Krug -- Tyler Tucker
Jordan Binnington
Kasperi Kapanen -- Robert Thomas -- Pavel Buchnevich
Brandon Saad -- Brayden Schenn -- Jordan Kyrou
Alexey Toropchenko -- Logan Brown -- Sammy Blais
Nathan Walker -- Nikita Alexandrov -- Tyler Pitlick
Nick Leddy -- Colton Parayko
Marco Scandella -- Justin Faulk
Torey Krug -- Tyler Tucker
Jordan Binnington
Sharks:
Fabian Zetterlund -- Tomas Hertl -- Andreas Johnsson
Michael Eyssimont -- Logan Couture -- Alexander Barabanov
Nick Bonino -- Nico Sturm -- Evgeny Svechnikov
Noah Gregor -- Steven Lorentz -- Oskar Lindblom
Mario Ferraro -- Erik Karlsson
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Matt Benning
Radim Simek -- Jacob MacDonald
Kaapo Kahkonen
Fabian Zetterlund -- Tomas Hertl -- Andreas Johnsson
Michael Eyssimont -- Logan Couture -- Alexander Barabanov
Nick Bonino -- Nico Sturm -- Evgeny Svechnikov
Noah Gregor -- Steven Lorentz -- Oskar Lindblom
Mario Ferraro -- Erik Karlsson
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Matt Benning
Radim Simek -- Jacob MacDonald
Kaapo Kahkonen
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
