San Jose at Vegas

Vegas is getting a lot of publicity after a first-round sweep of the Kings. This expansion team was 200-to-1 to win the Stanley Cup and that has made big headlines this week. However, the competition gets tougher as the playoffs go along and a talented and balanced San Jose squad is in town for Game 1. San Jose is #13 in the NHL in goals scored, ninth in goals allowed, second in penalty killing. The Sharks are 10-2 following a victory, plus 21-5 against the Pacific division. San Jose has been hot down the stretch, on a 13-5 run, off a 4-0 sweep of Anaheim. They won the first two games at Anaheim by a 6-2 count as dogs of +120 and +135. Martin Jones was fabulous in net, stopping 128 of 132 shots for a save percentage of .970 with one shutout. Vegas won the regular-season series 3-1, but three of the games were decided by one goal and two went into overtime. The Sharks are 20-8 when their opponent scores 2 goals or less in their previous game, so back the talented, experienced and red-hot dog. Play San Jose.