The Colorado Avalanche and the San Jose Sharks are set to face off at the SAP Center in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semis. The action will get going at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 4, and you’ll be able to catch this Western Conference matchup live on NBC Sports Network.
Colorado Avalanche at San Jose Sharks Odds
Colorado (+115) is playing the role of underdog to San Jose (-135). If you want to put some action on the matchup’s Over/Under (O/U) total, you’ll be looking at -125 for over 6 scores and +105 for under under..
The Sharks are 52-41 straight up (SU) and have recorded 10.4 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. Through 93 regular season outings, 53 of the team’s games have gone over the total, while 36 have gone under and just four have pushed. The team’s 29-18 SU at home this year.
San Jose’s offensive attack attempted 32.9 shots per game in the regular season, resulting in 3.5 goals per outing (ranked second overall in the NHL). In the postseason, the team’s attempting an average of 32.4 shots on goal 3.2 goals per game.
Following a regular season where they found the net on 23.2 percent of all power-play chances (the sixth-best), the Sharks have connected on 20.5 percent of their extra-man advantages in the postseason. Their penalty kill has gone from 80.1 percent in the regular season to 76.7 percent in the playoffs.
Boasting a .899 save percentage and 24.9 saves per game, Martin Jones (43-30-5) has been the primary option in goal for the Sharks this year. If they decide to give him the night off, however, San Jose could roll with Aaron Dell (11-16-16 record, .884 save percentage, 3.19 goals against average).
The Sharks will continue looking for offensive production out of Brent Burns and Tomas Hertl. Burns (94 points) has tallied 20 goals and 74 assists and has recorded multiple points in 26 different games this year. Hertl has 41 goals and 43 assists to his name and has notched a point in 55 contests.
Colorado has lost 9.2 units for moneyline bettors this year and is currently 44-47 straight up (SU). A total of 45 of its outings have gone under the total, while 43 have gone over and just three have pushed. As a road team, Colorado is 20-26 SU.
Colorado has scored on 21.5 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s good enough for seventh-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 25th overall and it’s successfully killed off 79.0 percent of all penalties.
Colorado’s skaters have been called for penalties 4.0 times per game this season, and 3.0 per game over their last five outings. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 6.4 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Semyon Varlamov (.909 save percentage and 2.87 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Colorado. Varlamov is averaging 27.8 saves per game and has 20 wins, 29 losses, and nine OT losses to his credit.
Nathan MacKinnon (47 goals, 65 assists) will pace the attack for the visiting Avalanche.
Colorado Avalanche at San Jose Sharks Betting Predictions
NHL Pick: SU Winner – Avalanche, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- For both of these teams, the total has gone over in three of their last five matches.
- San Jose’s attempted 32.9 shots per game overall this season (the sixth-most in the NHL), and 32.3 over their last 10 outings.
- The extra-man advantage could play a critical role tonight. The Avalanche are 20-20 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 27-29 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Sharks are 23-18 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 38-23 in games where their penalty minutes are in the single digits.
- San Jose skaters have created 11.4 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 9.3 takeaways per game (ranked 5th overall).
- Colorado is ranked 26th overall with 6.8 takeaways per game. That figure has trended upward recently, as it’s created 9.4 takeaways over its last 10 games and 10.6 takeaways over its last five.
- San Jose might hold an advantage if it’s a tight one late. The team’s 20-15 in games decided by one goal, while Colorado is just 12-22 in such games.
