The San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks meet Wednesday in NHL action at the United Center. Here’s a Blackhawks vs. Sharks Prediction. This article will include a Blackhawks vs. Sharks Pick.
San Jose Sharks Betting Preview
The San Jose Sharks beat the Predators, lost to the Canucks, and play the Jets next. The Sharks have lost 4 of their last 6 games.
The San Jose Sharks are averaging 3.01 goals per game and are scoring 20.9 percent of their power play opportunities. Macklin Celebrini leads San Jose with 44 goals, Alexander Wennberg has 37 assists and Tyler Toffoli has 172 shots on goal. Defensively, the San Jose Sharks are allowing 3.55 goals per game and are killing 75.8 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Yaroslav Askarov has given up 152 goals on 1,317 shots faced, and Alex Nedeljkovic has allowed 108 goals on 1,021 shots.
Chicago Blackhawks Betting Preview
The Chicago Blackhawks lost to the Blues and Sabres. The Blackhawks have lost 9 of their last 10 games.
The Chicago Blackhawks are averaging 2.53 goals per game and are scoring 17.2 percent of their power play opportunities. Tyler Bertuzzi leads Chicago with 32 goals, Connor Bedard has 43 assists and Frank Nazar has 138 shots on goal. Defensively, the Chicago Blackhawks are allowing 3.31 goals per game and are killing 83.8 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Spencer Knight has given up 153 goals on 1,566 shots faced, and Arvid Soderblom has allowed 93 goals on 774 shots.
Why the Chicago Blackhawks will win
- The Blackhawks have won four of their last five games as home underdogs against Pacific Division opponents.
- The Sharks have lost eight of their last nine road games against Western Conference opponents.
- The Sharks have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last nine games as favorites against Western Conference opponents.
- The home team has covered the puck line in six of the last seven games between the Sharks and Blackhawks.
- The Sharks have lost the third period in each of their last four games at United Center following a road win.
Why the San Jose Sharks will win
- The Blackhawks have lost each of their last seven home games.
- The road team has won four of the Blackhawks’ last five games.
- The road team has covered the puck line in each of the Blackhawks’ last five games.
- The Blackhawks have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last three games.
- The Blackhawks have lost the second period in nine of their last 10 games.
Total Goals Facts
- Seven of the Sharks’ last eight road games against opponents on a losing streak have gone OVER the total goals line.
- Each of the Blackhawks’ last four games against Pacific Division opponents has gone UNDER the total goals line.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in each of the Sharks’ last seven games following a road win.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 3′ market has hit in each of the Blackhawks’ last six games.
Chicago Blackhawks Player Prop Facts
- Connor Bedard has scored at least one goal in each of his last four appearances with the Blackhawks as home underdogs against Pacific Division opponents.
- Teuvo Teravainen has recorded an assist in each of his last four appearances with his team as an underdog against the Sharks.
San Jose Sharks Player Prop Facts
- William Smith has scored at least one goal in each of the Sharks’ last four games against the Blackhawks.
- William Eklund has recorded at least one assist in five of the Sharks’ last six games against the Blackhawks.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Chicago Blackhawks rank T31st in the league for goals per game this season (2.53).
- The Chicago Blackhawks rank 2nd in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (83.76%).
- The San Jose Sharks rank 30th in the league for goals against per game this season (3.55).
- The San Jose Sharks rank 28th in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (75.83%).
Blackhawks vs Sharks Prediction
A completely meaningless game where it can be tough to find an edge. Matchups like this, you should probably be waiting for the postseason instead of getting involved in this mess. With that said, the Sharks have been easily the better side and were in the playoff race just a week ago.
The Sharks beat the Blackhawks last week as well and have won 3 of the last 4 games against them overall. The price is cheap, so give me the better team. However, personally, I’d lay off the NHL until games matter again. These games with no stakes are complete toss-ups.