San Jose is in second place in the Pacific Division but a solid distance back of the Vegas Golden Knights. If the Sharks have really any shot at taking the division, they probably have to win Thursday night’s matchup – and any others the rest of the way vs. Vegas, which is the NHL betting favorite to win the Western Conference.
The Avalanche spoiled the Sharks near-perfect first period by scoring off a pair of turnovers in a span of 2:14 in the second. “A little frustrating,” captain Joe Pavelski said. “It felt like we controlled the play, and then in two, three minutes, it was 2-0. We’ve got to find ways to score more than one, that’s the bottom line.”
San Jose youngsters Tomas Hertl, Kevin Labanc, Chris Tierney, Joonas Donskoi and Timo Meier have all tied or surpassed their goal and point totals when compared to the same point last season. Though 52 games this season, the five forwards have totaled 56 goals and 125 points, which is more than double their combined totals through 52 team games last season (26 goals and 59 points).
How to Bet Vegas at San Jose NHL Betting Odds & Expert Pick
When: Thursday, 10:30 PM ET Where: SAP Center, San Jose TV: NHL Center Ice, AT&TSN, CSNCAL Radio: FOX Sports 98.9 FM (Vegas) / KUFX-FM 98.5 (San Jose) Opening NHL Betting Lines: Vegas -110, San Jose +110 (5.5)As the Golden Knights complete a six-game, 7000-mile road trip tomorrow, Gary Lawless checks in with the state of the team. More: https://t.co/Wvdc5hsoHb pic.twitter.com/ROlxiZup1U
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) February 8, 2018
Season Series
The Pacific Division rivals have met just once – and this will be Vegas’ first-ever trip to San Jose. On Nov. 24 in Sin City, the Golden Knights beat the Sharks 5-4 in overtime. Jonathan Marchessault took a pass from Shea Theodore and poked the puck past Aaron Dell in OT for the win. William Karlsson scored two goals for Vegas, and Theodore and James Neal had a goal apiece. Vegas was up 4-1, but Sharks goals from Brent Burns, Chris Tierney and Mikkel Boedker in the second period tied the game at 4. Vegas received a boost when San Jose had a goal reversed early in the third period after Joonas Donskoi’s skate collided with goalie Malcolm Subban’s skate in the crease. There were four goalies used in the game, two by each team.Latest NHL Betting Trends
- Vegas is 9-2 ATS in its last 11 games
- Vegas is 16-7 SU in its last 23 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Vegas’s last 5 games
- San Jose is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games at home
- San Jose is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Jose’s last 5 games
Why Bet on Vegas?
The Golden Knights are concluding a six-game road trip, their longest remaining in the season. They are 3-2 on it after losing 5-4 in Pittsburgh on Tuesday in goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury’s return to the city he spent his first 13 seasons with before being plucked in the expansion draft. Third-period goals by Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel ruined Fleury’s homecoming. The Golden Knights built up a 2-0 lead, but they left Fleury out to dry after that. Vegas gave up five consecutive goals in the second and third periods and they were never able to recover. Fleury now has a 15-5-2 record with a 1.99 goals-against-average and a .935 save percentage. His three-game winning streak is over. Fleury, who stopped 33 shots, had beaten his former teammates in December in Las Vegas. “The game was (in Pittsburgh), so it was different,” Fleury said. “It was very weird, but it was a game I’ll remember forever.” Jonathan Marchessault had a goal and an assist in the loss. Marchessault recorded the primary assist on William Karlsson’s power play goal in the first period to give Vegas a 1-0 lead. He then scored a goal of his own with just under eight minutes remaining in the game to cut his team’s deficit to 5-4. Marchessault finished the night with a plus-1 rating, three shots on goal and one hit in 16:11 of ice time. He now has 19 goals and 52 points in 50 games in 2017-18. Karlsson tallied his team-leading 28th goal of the season. He has produced 46 points through 53 games this season. Ryan Carpenter has scored in two straight games. That might not sound like much, but he didn’t have a goal this season until Sunday. The Knights had a weird hat trick of sorts – on delay penalties. Nate Schmidt (twice) and Erik Haula were called for airmailing the puck into the crowd in Pittsburgh. The Knights killed off all three, along with two other penalties.Why Bet on San Jose?
The Sharks just finished a five-game road trip of their own at 2-3 with a 3-1 loss in Colorado on Tuesday. It was Colorado’s ninth straight home win. The Sharks pulled goalie Martin Jones in the final minute and had a flurry of chances to tie it, but J.T. Compher iced the game with an empty-net goal with three seconds remaining. Joel Ward had the lone Sharks goal. He has points in back-to-back games for the third time this season, but just four goals and 11 points across 45 outings this season. Jones allowed two goals on 19 shots. He has allowed just four goals over his past three starts, but he has only one win to show for his efforts since the team has provided him with a total of five goals of support. That’s been the problem in San Jose all season, as the Sharks are middle of the pack with 2.64 goals per game and a plus-10 goal differential.
The Avalanche spoiled the Sharks near-perfect first period by scoring off a pair of turnovers in a span of 2:14 in the second. “A little frustrating,” captain Joe Pavelski said. “It felt like we controlled the play, and then in two, three minutes, it was 2-0. We’ve got to find ways to score more than one, that’s the bottom line.”
San Jose youngsters Tomas Hertl, Kevin Labanc, Chris Tierney, Joonas Donskoi and Timo Meier have all tied or surpassed their goal and point totals when compared to the same point last season. Though 52 games this season, the five forwards have totaled 56 goals and 125 points, which is more than double their combined totals through 52 team games last season (26 goals and 59 points).
