Florida Panthers vs. San Jose Sharks Free Pick 2/17/20

Posts AdminArticles, Hockey, NHL

Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, and the Florida Panthers will face off against Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns, and the San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center in an East-West tilt. The opening face-off is at 4 p.m. ET on Monday, February 17, and it’s being televised live on Fox SportsNet Florida.

Florida Panthers at San Jose Sharks Odds

Florida is 30-28 straight up (SU) and has earned 1.3 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 58 regular season contests, 34 of its games have gone over the total, while 20 have gone under and just three have pushed. The Panthers are 14-14 SU on the road in 2019-20.

Florida has converted on 21.7 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked 24th overall, and it has successfully killed off 77.6 percent of all penalties..

Averaging 26.5 saves per game with a .896 save percentage, Sergei Bobrovsky (21-23-5) has been the primary option in goal for Florida this year. If it chooses to rest him, however, the team might go with Chris Driedger (6-3), who has a .932 save percentage and 2.35 goals against average this year.

San Jose is 26-32 straight up (SU) and has lost 9.2 units for moneyline bettors this year. 30 of its games have gone under the total, while 25 have gone over and just two have pushed. It’s 14-15 SU at home this year.

The Sharks have converted on just 16.1 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a mark that places them in the bottom 5 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked first overall, and it’s successfully killed off 85.6 percent of all penalties.

Martin Jones has stopped 25.2 shots per game as the primary netminder in goal for the Sharks. Jones has 14 wins, 20 losses, and two overtime losses to his name and has recorded a fairly-weak .894 save percentage and 3.15 goals against average this season.

Florida Panthers at San Jose Sharks Betting Predictions

Prediction: SU Winner – Sharks, O/U – Over

Betting Notes

  • Seven of Florida’s last ten games have been decided by two goals or more. The team is 2-5 in those games.
  • The Sharks are 12-15 SU in games where they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Panthers are 10-4 SU when they serve more minutes than their opponent.
  • San Jose is 2-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Florida is 3-3 in shootouts.
  • Florida is ranked 27th this season with 12.0 giveaways per game. That figure has trended down recently, however, as the team’s averaged 10.0 giveaways over its last 10 games and 10.4 giveaways over its last five.
  • San Jose has averaged 8.2 giveaways over its last five home games, its season average of 8.9 giveaways per game (the 9th-fewest in the league).
  • The Sharks this season have registered the 12th-most hits in the NHL (22.2 per game).