San Jose Sharks vs Boston Bruins 1/7/23 NHL Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks meet Saturday in NHL action at the SAP Center. The Boston Bruins have won 7 of their last 9 games. The San Jose Sharks have lost 7 of their last 9 games.

The Boston Bruins are averaging 3.8 goals per game and are scoring on 27.5 percent of their power play opportunities. David Pastrnak leads Boston with 27 goals, Hampus Lindholm has 23 assists and Patrice Bergeron has 135 shots on goal. Defensively, the Boston Bruins are allowing 2.2 goals per game and are killing 85.2 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Linus Ullmark has given up 45 goals on 733 shots faced, and Jeremy Swagman has allowed 35 goals on 350 shots.

The San Jose Sharks are averaging 3 goals per game and are scoring on 22.2 percent of their power play opportunities. Timo Meier leads San Jose with 21 goals, Erik Karlsson has 40 assists and Tomas Hertl has 91 shots on goal. Defensively, the San Jose Sharks are allowing 3.7 goals per game and are killing 83.6 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Kaapo Kahkonen has allowed 54 goals on 423 shots faced, and James Reimer has allowed 67 goals on 647 shots.

The Bruins are 4-1 in their last 5 road games and 39-14 in their last 53 overall. The Sharks are 17-35 in their last 52 home games and 17-35 in their last 52 games playing on 0 days rest. The over is 23-7-1 in Sharks last 31 overall. The Bruins are 4-0 in the last 4 meetings in San Jose and 9-0 in the last 9 meetings.

The San Jose Sharks just can’t get out of their own way, and that includes losing last night to the Ducks. If the loss wasn’t bad enough, the game went into overtime. Expect some tired legs from the Sharks. The Boston Bruins also remain the best team in the league, and this is a spot where they should feast. My only option here is to side with the Bruins and PL for max betting value.