The San Jose Sharks and the Carolina Hurricanes meet in NHL action from PNC Arena on Friday night.
Sharks Remain Winless
The San Jose Sharks come into this game on the heels of a 6-0 beatdown loss at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning in their last game. Tomas Hertl has a goal and a team-high 4 assists while Filip Zadina has a pair of goals. Henry Thrun has a pair of assists and Fabian Zetterlund has a pair of goals and an assist. William Eklund, Thomas Bordeleau and Anthony Duclair each have a goal as well for the Sharks this season. MacKenzie Blackwood’s gone 0-4-1 between the pipes for the Sharks this season, posting a 4.23 GAA and a .897 save percentage while Kaapo Kahkonen is 0-2 with a 3.23 GAA and an .897 save percentage this season.
San Jose Sharks Team Facts
- The Sharks have lost each of their last 13 games.
- The underdogs have covered the puck line in each of the Sharks’ last seven games at PNC Arena.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in each of the Sharks’ last four games against Metropolitan Division opponents.
- The Sharks have lost the third period in 11 of their last 12 games as underdogs.
Hurricanes Edge Kraken
The Carolina Hurricanes come into this game on the heels of a 3-2 OT win over Seattle that snapped a three-game losing streak at the time. Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Martin Necas each have a team-high 9 points with a team-high 4 goals and 5 assists while Seth Jarvis has 7 points with 4 goals of his own. Brady Skjei has a team-high 6 assists while Jaccob Slavin has 7 points with 3 goals and 4 assists. Teuvo Teravainen has 4 goals as well this season. In goal, Frederik Andersen has gone 3-0 with a 3.38 GAA and an .875 save percentage while Antti Raanta is 1-1 with a 4.41 GAA and an .818 save percentage and Pyotr Kochetkov is 0-3 with a 4.33 GAA and an .836 save percentage.
Carolina Hurricanes Team Facts
- The Hurricanes have lost five of their last six games as favorites after coming off overtime.
- The Hurricanes have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last eight home games against Pacific Division opponents.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in each of the Hurricanes’ last six games as favorites against opponents on a losing streak.
- The Hurricanes have won the first period in each of their last four home games following an overtime win.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Carolina Hurricanes ranks 31st in the league for goals against per game this season (4.38).
- The Carolina Hurricanes ranks 29th in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (69.70%).
- The San Jose Sharks ranks 32nd in the league for goals per game this season (1.14).
- The San Jose Sharks ranks 29th in the league for goals against per game this season (4.00).
Chris’ Pick
I don’t love this game at all, mainly because of the price that’s associated with a Hurricanes team that’s been so wildly inconsistent. However, there’s simply no backing the Sharks in their current form, as San Jose keeps on finding ways to lose games and lose them emphatically as of late. If this isn’t a good spot for Carolina to wake up offensively, I don’t know what would be. Give me Carolina -1.5 if forced to pick.
