The San Jose Sharks took care of the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference semifinals and now they could be favored in sports betting in the Finals. The Sharks have traditionally been underachievers in online sports betting but against Detroit they came through with flying colors.
Sports betting odds just slightly favored the Sharks against the Red Wings in their series but San Jose had little trouble, winning in five games. The Sharks got solid play from goaltender Evgeni Nabokov and for the first time in his career, Joe Thornton actually showed up in a playoff series. It is the first time in six years the Sharks have made it to the Western Conference finals. “That’s great to see because we had some individuals that heading into the playoffs had to answer some questions,” coach Todd McLellan said. “I think to this point they’ve done that.”
The Sharks eliminated Detroit in Game 5 by a score of 2-1 as Nabokov was excellent in goal while Thornton had a goal and an assist. “It feels good,” said Thornton, “After kind of embarrassing ourselves with the 7-1 loss in Detroit we just wanted to bounce back. I thought we did a great job.” Nabokov finished with 33 saves in the Game 5 win. “It’s hard to play against those guys,” Nabokov said. “I don’t think people expected us to win 4-1 but that’s hockey.”
The Sharks have been a huge disappointment in past seasons. In the last five years they had the second best record in the league but didn’t make it past the second round. Last year they lost in sports betting in the first round to Anaheim. The Sharks still have to get past either Chicago or Vancouver though to reach the Stanley Cup Finals and get the monkey off their back. The only time the Sharks made it to the conference finals was in 2004 when they lost to Calgary in six games. They are likely to be matched up against Chicago this time and the Blackhawks finished one point ahead of San Jose this season in the overall NHL standings.
The Sharks would be about a pick in online sports betting odds against the Blackhawks in the Western Conference Finals. “It’s definitely nice to get back there and be one step closer to winning the cup,” San Jose’s Patrick Marleau said.