A couple of teams that’ve positioned themselves squarely in the playoff hunt, the San Jose Sharks and the Minnesota Wild clash at the Xcel Energy Center for a Western Conference showdown. The match will get started at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 25, and you’ll be able to catch it live on Fox Sports North.
San Jose Sharks vs. Minnesota Wild Odds
Minnesota (+135) is entering this one as the underdog to Minnesota (-155), and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals. The line for betting that total stands at -125 for the under and +105 for the over.
The Wild are 34-27 straight up (SU) and have earned 1.0 unit for moneyline bettors this year. That early-season winning percentage isn’t too far off from to the 49-33 record the team managed during the 2016-17 season campaign. Of its 61 games this season, 31 have gone over the total, while 27 have gone under and just three have pushed. The team is 20-11 SU at home this season.
Minnesota has converted on 21.1 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 16th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.8 percent of all penalties.
As a team, Minnesota has been whistled for penalties 3.9 times per game overall this season, and 2.8 per game over its last five contests. The teams had to defend opposition power plays for just 6.6 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, overall.
Boasting a .919 save percentage and 27.8 saves per game, Devan Dubnyk (26-17-5) has been the top option in goal for the Wild this year. If head coach Bruce Boudreau decides to rest him, however, the team may turn to Alex Stalock (9-14-14 record, .916 save percentage, 2.73 goals against average).
The Wild will continue to lean on the offensive production out of Eric Staal and Mikael Granlund. Staal (58 points) is up to 29 goals and 29 assists and has recorded two or more points 14 times this year. Granlund has 17 goals and 32 assists to his name and has recorded a point in 30 contests.
On the other bench, San Jose is 33-29 straight up (SU) and has lost 1.6 units for moneyline bettors this year. A total of 37 of its outings have gone under the total, while 23 have gone over and just two have pushed. As the road team, San Jose is 16-17 SU.
San Jose has converted on 21.9 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s good enough for seventh-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked first overall and it’s successfully killed off 84.1 percent of all penalties.
San Jose’s skaters have been penalized only 3.5 times per game in total this season, and 2.4 per game over their last five road outings. The teams had to defend opponent power plays just 5.1 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Martin Jones (26.2 saves per game) has been the primary choice in the net for San Jose. Jones has 20 wins, 22 losses, and six OT losses to his credit, while registering a .917 save percentage and 2.52 goals against average this year.
For the visiting Sharks, the offense will be coordinated by Brent Burns (10 goals, 41 assists) and Logan Couture (25 goals, 22 assists).
San Jose Sharks at Minnesota Wild Free Picks
NHL Pick: SU Winner – Wild, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- Minnesota is 3-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while San Jose is 4-3 in shootouts.
- Minnesota has averaged 3.0 goals per game overall this season, but has raised it up to 4.3 per match up over its three-game win streak.
- Over Minnesota’s last ten outings, seven of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 5-2 in those games).
