The Sharks and Kings Tangle in Game 7

San Jose Sharks @ Los Angeles Kings – Tuesday (Series tied 3-3)

On Sunday night, the San Jose Sharks surprised the betting sites and won game six of their series with the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings. The Kings seemed unable to break through the San Jose defense and almost helpless in trying to get the puck past San Jose goaltender Antti Niemi. If game six is any indication of what could happen on Tuesday night, then game seven looks to be a battle that could require a couple of overtimes to finish.

The online betting sites know that the Los Angeles Kings have always had problems scoring goals consistently. But in game six, it looked like the San Jose Sharks had figured out how to bring the Kings to an almost complete stop. San Jose’s defense was able to keep Kings players such as Jeff Carter and Anze Kopitar almost completely away from the Sharks’ goal. When the Kings did manage to break through, Niemi was there. If Los Angeles is going to win game seven and move on to the Western Conference finals, then it is going to need to find a way to get through the San Jose defense.

Why the Sharks Will Win

Realistically, the Sharks do not need to do anything different to win game seven. The kind of pressure San Jose was able to put on the Los Angeles goal was enough to get two goal past a normally stingy Jonathan Quick. The sportsbook experts know that veteran players such as Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau are going to also need to step up and play defense in this game if San Jose is going to win. But it sure looked in game six like the Sharks have the answers that they need to win game seven and the series.

Why the Kings Will Win

The Kings have had their collective back up against the wall late in the NHL playoffs before and have found ways to win. This is the same Los Angeles roster that rose up as an eighth seed last season and won the Stanley Cup. Now the Kings need to call on a little of that magic and use it to win game seven. The Sharks have been able to shut down the Kings for the past couple of games. Los Angeles needs to stop that trend if it wants to win game seven.

The Bottom Line

This game will be a low-scoring, defensive affair that will feature some very clutch goaltending. Most betting experts consider Antti Niemi and Jonathan Quick to be equals. That means that this game will ride on each team’s ability to score. Considering how few goals the Kings have actually logged in this series, the trend would indicate that the Sharks will win this game. In sports betting, it is always dangerous to bet against the trend.

Pick: San Jose Sharks