Chicago at San Jose

These two teams were supposed to meet here. San Jose, the No. 1 seed in the West, lost two of their first three playoff games to Colorado. But they have since gone 7-1, disposing of the Avalanche and Red Wings. Chicago, the No. 2 seed, also spotted their opening round opponent a 2-1 lead. The Blackhawks went on to beat Nashville in six games and then beat Vancouver in six. So now we have the top two seeds in the West in a series that could really go either way. I like Chicago's chances at stealing game one here. The Blackhawks are 28-20 this season on the road, outscoring opponents by nearly a goal per game. The Sharks were great at home this season but they haven't looked especially sharp in the playoffs. They never beat Detroit handily, winning all four of their games by just one goal. San Jose can score, but this season Chicago is 21-8 vs. teams that score 3+ goals per game. In their last 16 road games vs. winning teams, they have gone 12-4. I'm backing the Blackhawks here.