San Jose Sharks Will Take On Vancouver Canucks In Game 5
On Tuesday, the No. 1 Vancouver Canucks will battle against the No. 2 San Jose Sharks in Game 5 in Vancouver (9 p.m. ET, Versus).
In NHL betting odds, the Canucks are -172 money line favorites against the Sharks.
Heading into Game 5, San Jose has its back against the wall. The Sharks need to win every game to avoid being eliminated in the Western Conference final for the second straight year as they are down 3-1 in the series against Vancouver. Vancouver will be in the Stanley Cup final with just one win. The Canucks now have a shot at returning to the Cup series for the first time in 17 years as they put a stranglehold on their series with San Jose.
The Canucks are applying offensive pressure on the opposing net. The Canucks could not get many quality shots on goal and that is the difference between game three and game four. The price per head Canucks fans can stop worrying about goaltender Roberto Luongo. It is obvious that Luongo has finally found a playoff groove that is conducive to winning, after his performance in game four. Despite giving up two goals, Luongo was brilliant in the third period of game four. The game was already decided and Luongo’s to win by that point.
For San Jose, the keys for game five in Vancouver are the same as they were in game three: stay out of the box or skate much better down two men. While the Sharks were 0 of 5 so a key could also be score on the power play if you are a San Jose backer, the Canucks were three of five on the power play. The Sharks stand at 3-11 all time in the Western Conference finals as they have simply struggled at this level in the playoffs. Especially after watching the last two games just tough to go against this trend.