In their last head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Detroit Red Wings and the San Jose Sharks meet at the SAP Center in an East-West tilt. Fox Sports Detroit will air the game, which gets underway at 10:30 p.m. ET on Monday, March 12.
Detroit Red Wings vs. San Jose Sharks Odds
San Jose (-205) is currently the favorite over Detroit (+175), and the oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-125 money on the under, +105 on the over).
Losing -2.8 units for moneyline bettors, San Jose is 36-32 straight up (SU) overall in the 2017-18 season. That winning percentage, the third-best in the Pacific Division so far in the early season, is fairly close to what the team managed during last year’s regular season (46-36). Among its 68 games this season, 26 have gone under the total, while 26 have gone over and just two have pushed. This season, the team is 20-14 SU at home.
The Sharks have converted on 21.0 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked first overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 84.8 percent of all penalties.
The Sharks, as a collective unit, have been penalized just 3.3 times per game overall this season, and 1.4 per game over their last five games home outings. The team’s had to defend opponent power plays for just 3.4 minutes per game over their last 10 outings, in total.
Averaging 25.9 saves per game with a .918 save percentage, Martin Jones (23-25-7) has been the top option in goal for the Sharks this season. If the Sharks, however, choose to give him the night off, the team might turn to Aaron Dell (14-12-12 record, .914 save percentage, 2.65 goals against average).
The Sharks will continue seeking leadership out of Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski. Burns (53 points) has tallied 10 goals and 43 assists and has recorded multiple points 13 times this year. Pavelski has 18 goals and 35 assists to his name and has recorded a point in 36 games.
On the other side of the rink, Detroit is 26-42 straight up (SU) and has lost 13.4 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. A total of 41 of its outings have gone under the total, while 26 have gone over and just one has pushed. The Red Wings are 13-20 SU as an away team this season.
The Red Wings have converted on just 18.3 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a mark that places them in the bottom-10 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 22nd overall and it’s successfully killed off 78.4 percent of all penalties.
Detroit’s players have been penalized 3.7 times per game this season, 4.0 per game over their past five contests total, and 3.8 per game over their last five games as the visiting team. The team has had to kill penalties just 7.2 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jimmy Howard (.911 save percentage and 2.82 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Detroit. Howard is averaging 26.5 saves per game and owns an 18-33-8 record.
For the visiting Red Wings, the offense will be facilitated through Dylan Larkin (nine goals, 40 assists) and Henrik Zetterberg (nine goals, 35 assists).
Detroit Red Wings at San Jose Sharks Betting Predictions
Pick: SU Winner – Sharks, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- Detroit has scored just 2.0 goals per game (while giving up 3.8) over its six-game losing skid.
- The Red Wings are 9-14 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 18-29 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
- San Jose is 4-3 in games decided by a shootout this season while Detroit is 4-1 in shootouts.
- San Jose could hold an advantage if it’s a close one late. The team’s 15-12 in games decided by one goal, while Detroit is 9-22 in such games.
- The over has hit in three of San Jose’s last five outings.
- San Jose is ranked 23rd this season with 10.6 giveaways per game. That figure has improved, however, as the team’s averaged 6.2 giveaways over its last 10 games and 7.0 giveaways over its last five.
- Detroit has averaged 7.8 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 10.6 giveaways per game (ranked 24th in the NHL).
