The top two teams in the Pacific Division meet on Thursday night, as the Vegas Golden Knights visit the San Jose Sharks. The Golden Knights are in first place in the division and unless they totally collapse, they are going to win the division. The Sharks are in second place, but they are just barely in front of Los Angeles and Anaheim. This will be the third meeting of the season between Vegas and San Jose, with the Golden Knights winning the previous two. Let’s look at this contest on Thursday and NHL picks.
At 10 p.m. ET, tune into NBCSN for live television coverage of this NHL game on Thursday, March 22, 2018, at SAP Center.
We'll have NHL odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NHL Thursday schedule.
Odds Analysis
Vegas has been a really good road team this season, as they have the second-best road record in the Western Conference. They are 21-12-3 away from home this season. They have gone over the total 19 times on the road, under 16 times, with one push. They are scoring 3.3 goals per game and giving up 2.7 per contest. This is the first game of a quick two-game road trip for the Golden Knights, as they are in Colorado on Saturday.
One of the reasons that Vegas is having such a great season is the play of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. ”He makes an expansion team not be an expansion team,” Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said recently. Fleury is having one of his best seasons with a goals against average of 2.15 and a save percentage of .930.
The Sharks come into this game in second place in the Pacific Division, but because Los Angeles and Anaheim are right behind them, the Sharks are not safe yet in terms of making the playoffs. San Jose has been a solid home team this season, as they were 21-14 in their first 35 home games, with 16 games going over, 18 going under, with one push. They are scoring 3 goals per game and giving up 2.7 per contest. This is the second game of a three-game homestand for the Sharks, as they host Calgary on Saturday.
The Sharks got some good injury news this week, as defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic avoided serious injury when he took a slapshot to the throat area in Saturday’s game against Vancouver. He is expected to play this week. “Big relief,” head coach Pete DeBoer said recently. “He’s obviously a big part for us as we know. It could have been a lot worse, and thankfully, it wasn’t.”
Special Teams
The Golden Knights have been solid on special teams this season, as they are 7th in the league on the power play at just over 21% and they are 14th in penalty killing at 81%. The Sharks have also been really good on special teams, as they rank 11th on the power play at just over 21% and they are 3rd in penalty killing at nearly 84%.
Key Stat
The Golden Knights and Sharks have met twice this season and Vegas has two wins. Both games were high scoring, as the Golden Knights won 5-4 at home and they won 5-3 in San Jose.
Free NHL Picks
Both Vegas and San Jose played on Tuesday and had Wednesday off so there is no advantage in terms of rest. Vegas has the better record, but they haven’t played nearly as well lately as they are just 5-5 in their last ten games, while San Jose is 7-2-1. I will take the Sharks to get the home win. I also can’t ignore the total, as both of the previous meetings between the teams have been high scoring, so I will also play this game on Thursday night over the total.
NHL Odds: Sharks 4, Golden Knights 3
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