Two of the league’s very best at killing off power plays, the St. Louis Blues and the San Jose Sharks face off at the SAP Center. Fox Sports Midwest will air this Western Conference matchup, and the action gets underway at 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 21.
St. Louis Blues at San Jose Sharks Odds
St. Louis (-135) is the favorite over San Jose (+115), and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -105 money on the over and -115 on the under.
St. Louis is 22-14 straight up (SU) and has earned 4.7 units for moneyline bettors this year. 19 of its outings have gone under the total, while 17 have gone over and none have pushed. The Blue Notes are 10-7 SU as the road team in 2019-20.
St. Louis has converted on 22.0 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s good enough for ninth-best in the league. Additionally, its penalty kill is ranked third overall, and it’s successfully killed off 85.6 percent of its penalties.
For the team as a whole, St. Louis has been penalized just 3.3 times per game overall during the 2019-20 season, and 2.6 per game over its last five road outings. The team’s been forced to defend opponent power plays just 5.9 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Averaging 27.3 saves per game with a .920 save percentage, Jordan Binnington (16-10-4) has been the top option in goal for St. Louis this year. If head coach Craig Berube decides to rest him, however, the team may go with Jake Allen (6-5-2), who has a .930 save percentage and 2.21 goals against average this year.
David Perron and Ryan O’Reilly will both look to continue their strong seasons for the visiting Blues. Perron has 34 points on 15 goals and 19 assists, and has recorded two or more points in six different games. O’Reilly has six goals and 26 assists to his name, and has logged at least one point in 19 games.
San Jose is 16-20 straight up (SU) and has lost 7.1 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 36 regular season contests, 17 of its games have gone over the total, while another 17 have gone under and just two have pushed. It’s 10-9 SU as the home team this season.
San Jose has converted on just 14.8 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that places it in the bottom 5 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked first overall, and it’s successfully killed off 88.4 percent of all penalties.
The Sharks have been penalized 4.4 times per game this season, and 2.8 per game over their last five at home. The team’s been forced to kill penalties a whopping 16.4 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Martin Jones (24.8 saves per game) has been the primary netminder in the crease for San Jose. Jones has 12 wins, 15 losses, and one overtime loss to his credit and has recorded a pedestrian 3.30 goals against average and a poor .888 save percentage this year.
Logan Couture (11 goals, 21 assists) will pace the offensive attack for the Sharks.
St. Louis Blues at San Jose Sharks Free Picks
Free NHL Pick: SU Winner – Sharks, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- St. Louis is 0-3 in games decided by a shootout this season while San Jose is 2-1 in shootouts.
- The total has gone over in four of St. Louis’ last five games.
- Eight of St. Louis’ last ten games have been decided by two goals or more. The team is 5-3 in those games.
- The Sharks this season have tallied the 11th-most hits per game in the NHL (22.2).
