Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl, and the San Jose Sharks will do battle against Tyler Bertuzzi, Dylan Larkin, and the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in an East-West tilt. Fox Sports Detroit will air the matchup, and the opening face-off is at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 31.
San Jose Sharks at Detroit Red Wings Odds
The Sharks (-160) are tabbed as the favorites over the Red Wings (+140), and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at an even 6 goals (-120 for the over, +100 for the under). Those O/U odds have moved after originally opening at -115 over and -105 under.
San Jose is 17-23 straight up (SU) and has lost 9.5 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 40 regular season contests, 19 of its games have gone over the total, while another 19 have gone under and just two have pushed. The Sharks are 6-11 SU as the away team in 2019-20.
San Jose has converted on just 14.7 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s ranked 30th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked second overall, and it’s successfully killed off a whopping 87.7 percent of all penalties..
With a .891 save percentage and 24.8 saves per game, Martin Jones (13-16-1) has been the top option in goal for San Jose this season. If it chooses to give him a rest, however, San Jose could turn to Aaron Dell (4-11-2), who has a .900 save percentage and 3.15 goals against average this year.
Detroit is 9-31 straight up (SU) and has lost 15.9 units for moneyline bettors this year. 20 of its games have gone over the total, while 15 have gone under and just five have pushed. This season, the team’s 5-15 SU at home.
The Red Wings have converted on just 16.1 percent of their power play chances this season, a figure that’s ranked 25th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 30th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 72.5 percent of all opponent power plays.
Jonathan Bernier has stopped 25.8 shots per game as the top selection in the crease for the Red Wings. Bernier has seven wins, 17 losses, and two overtime losses to his credit and has recorded a poor .900 save percentage and 3.19 goals against average this year.
San Jose Sharks vs. Detroit Red Wings Betting Predictions
Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Red Wings, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- Over Detroit’s last ten outings, seven of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 1-6 in those games).
- Power plays and penalty kills may be key in tonight’s matchup. The Sharks are 4-7 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 12-14 when they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 minutes, in total. The Red Wings are 5-10 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 7-21 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- For both of these clubs, the total has gone over in three of their last five outings.
- San Jose skaters have averaged 6.6 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 9.5 giveaways per game (ranked 12th in the league).
- Detroit is ranked 27th this season with 12.4 giveaways per game. That figure has regressed, as the team’s averaged 13.2 giveaways over its last 10 games and 13.8 giveaways over its last five.
- San Jose skaters have dished out the 10th-most hits in the league (22.6 per game).
