The San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators are both going to make the playoffs but have different motivations. The Predators are battling for the West’s top seed, while the Sharks are simply hoping to finish second in the Pacific Division. They face off Thursday night with the Preds as NHL odds favorites.
Juuse Saros stopped 34 of 36 shots, ending his personal four-game losing skid. Saros now owns a 6-5-5 record with a 2.39 goals-against-average and a .926 save percentage this season. He’ll continue serving as Pekka Rinne’s backup goaltender.
Rinne should be back in there Thursday. He has a 30-9-4 record with a 2.35 goals-against-average and a .926 save percentage this season and has 11 wins in his last 13 games.
Fresh off an impressive showing for Finland in PyeongChang, highly touted prospect Eeli Tolvanen is likely to be added to the roster by Nashville any day now. Tolvanen was selected 30th overall by the Predators in 2017 and has recorded three goals and six assists in five games at the Olympics, where Finland lost to Canada in the quarterfinal round.
How to Bet Sharks at Predators NHL Odds & Expert Pick
When: Thursday, 8 p.m. ET Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville TV: NHL Center Ice, CSNCAL, FSSM Radio: 98.5 FM (San Jose) / 102.5 FM (Nashville) Opening NHL Lines: Predators -170, Sharks +145 (5.5)📲 #WallpaperWednesday pic.twitter.com/XjFagVi9uN
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) February 21, 2018
Season Series
Second of three meetings this regular season, with San Jose returning to Nashville on March 29. On Nov. 1 in San Jose, the Sharks beat the Predators 4-1 in a scrappy game that had 20 penalties and 52 penalty minutes. Joonas Donskoi and Mikkel Boedker each had a goal and an assist to lead the Sharks. Joe Pavelski and Marc-Edouard Vlasic also scored and Martin Jones made 19 saves. Joe Thornton became the 20th NHL player to reach 1,400 career points when he assisted on Pavelski’s goal. Roman Josi scored for the Predators, and Pekka Rinne stopped 19 shots but fell to 11-7-4 against the Sharks in his career.Latest NHL Betting Trends
- San Jose is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 games
- San Jose is 5-1 SU in the last 6 games
- The total went UNDER in 4 of San Jose’s last 5 games
- Nashville is 1-6 ATS in the last 7 games
- Nashville is 13-6 SU in the last 19 games
- The total went OVER in 5 of Nashville’s last 7 games when playing at home against San Jose
Why Bet on San Jose?
The Sharks have won three straight and five of six to solidify second place in the Pacific. They are off a 3-2 win at St. Louis on Tuesday to start a four-game trip. Logan Couture notched a goal and an assist. Couture opened the scoring at the 6:35 mark of the second period. He also registered the primary assist on Joonas Donskoi’s go-ahead goal (2-1) later on in the period. The 28-year-old finished the game with a plus-2 rating and two shots on goal in 19:48 of ice time. Couture has racked up seven points in his last seven games. He’s up to 24 goals and 46 points in 56 games this season. Mikkel Boedker gave San Jose a 3-1 lead at 15:54 when he scored from the left side of the net. Boedker has been red hot lately with five goals and seven points in his last four games. That’s propelled him to 12 goals and 24 points in 52 contests this season. Marc-Edouard Vlasic extended his point streak to five games on Tuesday with an assist. Chris Tierney continued his career year, and picked up his fourth point in three games. His 16th assist of the season marks a new personal-best, with 22 games to go. The Sharks only attempted 27.27 percent of the five-on-five shots and generated 35.71 percent of the scoring chances with them on the ice, but still managed to score a goal and hold the Blues scoreless in the process. Martin Jones stopped 31 of 33 shots. Jones turned aside 30 of 31 shots at even-strength, but he gave up a power play tally to Vladimir Tarasenko late in the second frame. Jones is now riding a three-game winning streak. He’s also been victorious in four of his last five outings. He has a 19-15-5 record with a 2.53 goals-against-average and a .916 save percentage.Team Statistics
Offense- Goals: 2.97
- Shots: 32.73
- PP/PK Percentage: 22.56
- Goals: 2.72
- Shots: 30.33
- PP/PK Percentage: 15.73
Why Bet on Nashville?
The Predators won their second straight on Tuesday, 3-2 in Detroit. Viktor Arvidsson scored his third goal in two games and the Predators ended their seven-game losing skid against Detroit. Arvidsson gave the Predators a 3-1 lead at the 4:50 mark of the third frame and that goal proved to be the game-winner. He has found the back of the net three times in his last two outings. The 24-year-old is up to 21 goals and 40 points in 57 games this season. Scott Hartnell opened the scoring at the 4:28 mark of the first period. He finished the game with a plus-1 rating and three shots on goal in 11:31 of ice time and has nine goals and nine assists in 45 games this season. Kyle Turris’ goal at the 9:35 mark of the first period gave Nashville a 2-0 advantage at the time. This was his first tally in 10 games. The 28-year-old has 10 goals and 33 points in 54 games.
Juuse Saros stopped 34 of 36 shots, ending his personal four-game losing skid. Saros now owns a 6-5-5 record with a 2.39 goals-against-average and a .926 save percentage this season. He’ll continue serving as Pekka Rinne’s backup goaltender.
Rinne should be back in there Thursday. He has a 30-9-4 record with a 2.35 goals-against-average and a .926 save percentage this season and has 11 wins in his last 13 games.
Fresh off an impressive showing for Finland in PyeongChang, highly touted prospect Eeli Tolvanen is likely to be added to the roster by Nashville any day now. Tolvanen was selected 30th overall by the Predators in 2017 and has recorded three goals and six assists in five games at the Olympics, where Finland lost to Canada in the quarterfinal round.
Team Statistics
Offense- Goals: 3.14
- Shots: 31.71
- PP/PK Percentage: 22.33
- Goals: 2.61
- Shots: 32.44
- PP/PK Percentage: 18.01
