The San Jose Sharks, spearheaded by Brent Burns and Logan Couture, are preparing to take the ice against Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon, and the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center in a Western Conference matchup. The match will get started at 9:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, January 2, and you will be able to see it live on NBC Sports Network.
San Jose Sharks vs. Colorado Avalanche Odds
Each side currently has an identical -110 money line for this matchup and oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-125 money on the over, +105 on the under).
San Jose is 21-20 straight up (SU) and has lost 9.9 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 41 regular season matches, 24 of its games have gone over the total, while 16 have gone under and just one has pushed. The Sharks are 9-12 SU as the away team in 2018-19.
San Jose has converted on 23.8 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s good enough for seventh-best in the league. On the other hand, it has the fifth-strongest penalty kill in the league, and it has successfully killed off 83.9 percent of all penalties..
Boasting a .898 save percentage and 24.5 saves per game, Martin Jones (17-12-4) has been the top option in goal for San Jose this year. If San Jose decides to rest him, however, head coach Peter Deboer may turn to Aaron Dell (5-8-3), who has a .889 save percentage and 3.10 goals against average this year.
On the other bench, Colorado is 19-21 straight up (SU) and has lost 8.1 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 20 of its games have gone over the total, while another 20 have gone under and none have pushed. This year, the team’s 8-10 SU as the home team.
The Avalanche have converted on 26.6 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s good enough for seventh-best in the league. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 21st overall, and it’s successfully killed off 77.8 percent of all opponent power plays.
Semyon Varlamov (27.7 saves per game) has been the primary netminder in goal for the Avalanche. Varlamov has 11 wins, 14 losses, and five overtime losses to his credit and has registered a pedestrian 2.80 goals against average and a .912 save percentage this season.
San Jose Sharks vs. Colorado Avalanche Free Picks
Free Prediction: SU Winner – Avalanche, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- The total has gone under in four of Colorado’s last five outings.
- Seven of San Jose’s last ten games have been decided by two goals or more. The team is 5-2 in those games.
- San Jose skaters notched 18.4 hits per game last season, while the Avalanche logged 20.4 hits per matchup.
