San Jose Sharks vs Philadelphia Flyers 12/29/22 NHL Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Philadelphia Flyers and San Jose Sharks meet Thursday in NHL action at the SAP Center. The Philadelphia Flyers have lost 7 of their last 9 games. The San Jose Sharks have lost 6 of their last 9 games.

The Philadelphia Flyers are averaging 2.5 goals per game and are scoring on 15.5 percent of their power play opportunities. Travis Konecny leads Philadelphia with 15 goals, Kevin Hayes has 21 assists and Tony DeAngelo has 74 shots on goal. Defensively, the Philadelphia Flyers are allowing 3.3 goals per game and are killing 75.5 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Carter Hart has allowed 75 goals on 840 shots faced, and Felix Sandstrom has given up 28 goals on 251 shots.

The San Jose Sharks are averaging 3.1 goals per game and are scoring on 22.2 percent of their power play opportunities. Timo Meier leads San Jose with 20 goals, Erik Karlsson has 35 assists and Tomas Hertl has 86 shots on goal. Defensively, the San Jose Sharks are allowing 3.6 goals per game and are killing 84.8 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Kaapo Kahkonen has allowed 48 goals on 375 shots faced, and James Reimer has allowed 63 goals on 617 shots.

The Flyers are 11-42 in their last 53 road games and 23-64 in their last 87 overall. The Sharks are 6-20 in their last 26 home games and 14-39 in their last 53 overall. The over is 4-0 in Flyers last 4 overall. The over is 20-7-1 in Sharks last 28 overall. The Flyers are 2-12-1 in the last 15 meetings in San Jose and 4-24-2 in the last 30 meetings.

I’m not running to the window to back either of these teams that are piling up the losses. With that said, somebody has to win. The San Jose Sharks are at home, and they have a clear edge on the offensive side. The Philadelphia Flyers are a mess right now, they don’t win on the road, and they’ve been blasted by the Sharks in past meetings. Give me the Sharks if forced to pick.