In their second head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Calgary Flames and the San Jose Sharks take the ice at the SAP Center for a Pacific Division tilt. This one gets started at 10:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 28 and it’ll air live on Sportsnet West.
Calgary Flames at San Jose Sharks Odds
San Jose enters the contest as the heavy favorite with a moneyline of -145. The line for Calgary sits at +125, and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -125 for the under and +105 for the over.
The Sharks are 19-15 straight up (SU) and have lost 0.6 units for moneyline bettors thus far. That winning percentage, ranked 3rd in the Pacific Division in this young season, hasn’t moved much from the 46-36 record the team managed during the 2016-17 season campaign. Out of its 34 regular season contests, 22 of them have gone under the total, while 11 have gone over and just one has pushed. This season, the teams 11-8 SU at home.
San Jose’s been able to convert on 22.3 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s good enough for seventh-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is rated first overall, and it’s successfully killed off 86.6 percent of all penalties.
San Jose, as a collective unit, has been called for penalties 3.9 times per game overall this season, and 4.6 per game over its last five at home. The teams had to defend opponent power plays for 8.6 minutes per game over its last five matchups, in total.
Boasting a .916 save percentage and 25.8 saves per game, Martin Jones (12 wins, 12 losses, and four OT losses) has been the top goalkeeper for the Sharks this year. If the Sharks choose to give him a breather, however, the team might go with Aaron Dell (7-6-6 record, .935 save percentage, 1.94 goals against average).
The Sharks will continue relying on leadership from Logan Couture and Joe Thornton. Couture (26 points) has put up 15 goals and 11 assists and has recorded two or more points seven times this year. Thornton has seven goals and 18 assists to his credit and has notched at least one point in 19 games.
On the other side of the ice, Calgary is 18-18 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.0 units for bettors taking the moneyline thus far. Through 36 regular season outings, 19 of its games have gone under the total, while 16 have gone over and just one has pushed. Calgary’s 9-7 SU as the visiting team this season.
Calgary has converted on 17.5 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 25th overall and it’s successfully killed off 77.6 percent of all opponent power plays.
Calgary’s players have been penalized 4.0 times per game in total this season, and 4.8 per game over their last five outings. The teams been forced to kill penalties just 6.8 minutes per game over their last five road outings.
Mike Smith (28.2 saves per game) has been the primary choice in the net for Calgary. Smith owns a 15-16-3 record, while registering a .919 save percentage and 2.57 goals against average this year.
Johnny Gaudreau (13 goals, 28 assists) has been one of the top facilitators on offense for the visiting Flames.
Calgary Flames at San Jose Sharks Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Flames, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- Calgary is 2-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while San Jose is 1-1 in shootouts.
- The over has hit in three of San Jose’s last five outings.
