A couple of teams that are squarely in the playoff picture, the San Jose Sharks and the Minnesota Wild take the ice at the Xcel Energy Center. NBC Sports California will air this Western Conference matchup, and the action gets underway at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 18.
San Jose Sharks at Minnesota Wild Odds
Minnesota (-125) is tabbed as the favorite over San Jose (+105), and oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-120 money on the over, +100 on the under).
San Jose is 18-16 straight up (SU) and has lost 6.0 units for moneyline bettors this year. 20 of its games have gone over the total, while 14 have gone under and none have pushed. As an away team this season, the Sharks are 7-11 SU.
San Jose has converted on 24.5 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s good enough for eighth-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked second overall, and the team’s successfully killed off a whopping 85.3 percent of all penalties.
San Jose, as a collective unit, has been penalized just 3.4 times per game overall this season, and 2.0 per game over its past five outings. The team has had to kill penalties just 5.3 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
With a .897 save percentage and 24.6 saves per game, Martin Jones (14-10-3) has been the top option in goal for San Jose this season. If head coach Peter Deboer chooses to rest him, however, San Jose may turn to Aaron Dell (5-6-2), who has a .906 save percentage and 2.68 goals against average this year.
Brent Burns and Logan Couture will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Sharks. Burns has 34 points via four goals and 30 assists, and has recorded two or more points in eight different games. Couture has 11 goals and 23 assists to his name (and has logged at least one point in 22 games).
On the other side of the rink, Minnesota is 17-15 straight up (SU) and has lost 1.9 units for moneyline bettors this year. 15 of its outings have gone over the total, while 13 have gone under and just four have pushed. It’s 10-7 SU at home this season.
Minnesota has converted on 24.3 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that’s good enough for eighth-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked second overall, and it’s successfully killed off 85.6 percent of all penalties.
The Wild have been penalized 3.8 times per game this season, and 2.8 per game over their last five at home. The team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 7.8 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Devan Dubnyk (26.3 saves per game) has been the primary selection in the crease for Minnesota. Dubnyk has 13 wins, 12 losses, and two overtime losses and has registered a mediocre 2.63 goals against average and a .913 save percentage this season.
The Wild will be led on offense by Mikael Granlund (11 goals, 22 assists).
San Jose Sharks at Minnesota Wild Betting Predictions
NHL Prediction: SU Winner \u2013 Wild, O/U \u2013 Over
Betting Trends
- The over has hit in three of San Jose’s last five games.
- The Sharks are 5-4 SU in games where they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Wild are 9-3 SU when they serve more minutes than their opponent.
- Minnesota has forced 6.4 takeaways per game over its last five home games, a slight drop from its season average of 6.8 takeaways per game (ranked 23rd overall).
- San Jose has averaged 3.3 goals per game overall this season, but is averaging 5.0 per contest in their last four games (the team’s a perfect 4-0 SU over that span)
- San Jose skaters have averaged 7.2 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 8.3 takeaways per game (ranked 10th overall).
