In their fourth and final head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Calgary Flames and the San Jose Sharks take the ice at the SAP Center in a Pacific Division showdown. Sportsnet West will air the matchup, and the puck drops at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 24.
Calgary Flames at San Jose Sharks Odds
Calgary (+150) is currently the underdog to San Jose (-170) and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals (-105 for the over, -115 for the under).
The Sharks are 42-32 straight up (SU) and have earned 3.4 units for moneyline bettors this season. That winning percentage, ranked 2nd in the Pacific Division in this young season, hasn’t moved much from the 46-36 record the team managed during last years regular season campaign. Of its 74 regular season matches, 41 have gone under the total, while 31 have gone over and just two have pushed. This season, the team is 23-14 SU at home.
San Jose’s converted on 21.3 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked first overall, and it’s successfully killed off 84.5 percent of all penalties.
As a collective unit, San Jose has been penalized just 3.2 times per game overall this season, and 1.8 per game over its last five outings at home. The teams had to stave off opponent power plays for just 3.8 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, overall.
With a .917 save percentage and 25.9 saves per game, Martin Jones (28-25-7) has been the best option in goal for the Sharks this season. If they decide to rest him, however, head coach Peter Deboer may turn to Aaron Dell (15-12-12 record, .913 save percentage, 2.66 goals against average).
Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski will each be focal points for the Sharks. Burns (59 points) has tallied 11 goals and 48 assists and has recorded multiple points 14 times this year. Pavelski has 19 goals and 40 assists to his credit and has notched at least one point in 41 games.
Over on the other bench, Calgary is 35-40 straight up (SU) and has lost 12.8 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. Through 75 regular season matches, 37 of its games have gone under the total, while 36 have gone over and just two have pushed. Calgary’s 20-18 SU as the road team this season.
Calgary has converted on just 16.9 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that’s ranked 26th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 12th overall and it’s successfully killed off 81.5 percent of all opponent power plays.
Calgary’s players have been penalized 4.3 times per game this season, and 3.0 per game over their last five on the road. The teams been forced to kill penalties just 7.1 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Mike Smith (28.0 saves per game) has been the primary choice in the net for Calgary. Smith has 25 wins, 28 losses, and six OT losses to his credit, and has registered a .916 save percentage and 2.66 goals against average this year.
For the visiting Flames, the offense will be coordinated by Johnny Gaudreau, who’s got 59 assists and 23 goals this season.
Calgary Flames at San Jose Sharks Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Flames, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- San Jose is 4-3 in games decided by a shootout this season while Calgary is 2-5 in shootouts.
- The over has hit in four of San Jose’s last five games.
- Two teams that force a heavy amount of shots on goal, Calgary has attempted the leagues seventh-most shots on goal (33.8) and San Jose has attempted the ninth-most (32.9).
- San Jose has scored 3.1 goals per game overall this season, but has upped that figure to 4.8 per contest in its past six games (the teams a perfect 0-0 SU over that span).
- Over Calgary’s last ten games, seven of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 1-6 in those games).
