The Vancouver Canucks will try to punch a ticket to the Stanley Cup Final tonight, Tuesday May 24th, when they host the San Jose Sharks in Game 5 of the Western Conference final, at Rogers Arena. NHL oddsmakers have the Canucks as -170 moneyline home favourites over the Sharks (+155) with the over/under set at 5.5 points. Be sure to check the Sharks vs Canucks NHL Point Spreads and get your predictions in early.
San Jose (9-8, 4-4 V) will host Game 6 on Thursday if they can stave off elimination tonight. They are 4-4 as the guest in these playoffs and had a 23-14-4 road record this season. Andrew Desjardins and Ryane Clowe each scored a goal while Antti Niemi was tagged for all four goals on 13 shots for the Sharks, who fell to 3-11 all- time in conference final games. Niemi is 8-8 with a 3.34GAA. Their best bet is to played disciplined hockey and avoid the penalty box. "In two and a half minutes, we kept marching to the box, they kept scoring," said San Jose head coach Todd McLellan. Sharks captain Joe Thornton suffered an upper body injury in Game 4 after a collision with Vancouver's Raffi Torres. Thornton missed an optional practice on Monday, but he will play tonight. Also, Sharks defenseman Jason Demers is questionable again after sitting out all four games of this series with an undisclosed injury. Veteran blueliner Kent Huskins has skated in Demers' place and he may be needed again today.
Vancouver (11-6, 6-3 H) scored three times on 5-on-3 advantages in a span of under two minutes in the second period to take control of Game 4 and set up tonight's elimination game. Sami Salo tallied two power-play goals and assisted on another for the Canucks. Henrik Sedin posted four assists, his brother Daniel added three helpers while Ryan Kesler and Alexandre Burrows each had a goal to help Vancouver bounce back from a 4-3 loss on Friday. Luongo stopped 33-of-35 shots in the Game 4 triumph. Luongo is 11-6 with a 2.37GAA and two shutouts. "Well, obviously in any hockey game you prepare your power play and your penalty killing," said Vancouver head coach Alain Vigneault. "We killed the penalties that we had to kill at the beginning. I thought that gave us a little bit of momentum and confidence." However, the top-seeded Canucks have struggled this postseason when they have a chance to end a series, posting a 2-4 record in elimination games. Vancouver held a three-games-to-none lead over Chicago in the opening round, but lost three in a row before winning the series in Game 7. The Canucks then held a 3-1 lead over Nashville in Round 2 and ended that series in six games.
Recent Trends to Consider:
Over is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings.
Favorite is 13-4 in the last 17 meetings.
Sharks are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings in Vancouver.
Sharks are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings.
Sharks are 1-6 in their last 7 games as a road underdog of +151 to +200.
Sharks are 1-9 in their last 10 Conference Finals games.
Canucks are 4-0 in their last 4 playoff games as a favorite of -151 to -200.
Canucks are 5-1 in their last 6 playoff games as a favorite.
Canucks are 16-5 in their last 21 vs. Pacific.
Sharks vs Canucks
When: Tuesday, May 24, 9:00 PM ET
Pick: Canucks -170
Point-Spreads.com recommends you check out NHL Point Spreads before Sharks vs Canucks game.
The Bottom Line: The Canucks can’t let their past come back to haunt them, they must go for the kill tonight. Be sure to check Sharks vs Canucks Hockey Point Spreads and get your predictions in early.
