Los Angeles Kings at San Jose Sharks NHL Picks & Predictions 12/23/2017

Saturday, December 23, 2017

SAP Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Los Angeles Kings travel to SAP Center to play the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, December 23, 2017.

Los Angeles has a record of 22-10-4 this season and on the road they have a record of 11-5-2-0. They are 1st in the Pacific Division. They've scored 109 goals and given up 83 goals for a point differential of +26. For the season they have an ATS record of 21-14-0 and an over/under record of 15-17-0. San Jose has a record of 18-11-4 including 10-6-2-1 at home this season. They are 3rd in the Pacific Division. They've scored 93 goals and surrendered 84 for a goal differential of +9. Their record against the spread is 17-15-0 while their over/under record is 10-21-0.

Valuable Los Angeles Kings Betting Trends

The Los Angeles Kings are 21-14-0 straight up this year

The Los Angeles Kings are 15-17-0 against the over/under this season

Important San Jose Sharks Betting Trends

The San Jose Sharks are 17-15-0 straight up this year

The San Jose Sharks are 10-21-0 against the over/under this season

Key Los Angeles Kings Injuries

12/19/17 D Christian Folin Upper Body IR (12/16)
10/19/17 C Jeff Carter Ankle IR (10/18)

Key San Jose Sharks Injuries

12/22/17 C Logan Couture Concussion is "?" Saturday vs Los Angeles
12/10/17 RW Barclay Goodrow Lower Body IR (12/08)

Player Spotlight

Jonathan Quick has 16 wins and 10 losses this season in net for the Kings. He has 817 shots against him and he's given up 60 goals. He's made 757 saves for a save percentage of 93%. Anze Kopitar has accumulated 39 total points this season for the Kings. He has 17 goals this year with 83 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 21%. He has a total of 22 assists on the season and averages 21.9 minutes played per game. Dustin Brown averages 19.8 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 12 goals on 89 shots. He has 16 assists, giving him a total of 28 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Joe Thornton has scored 22 total points this year for the Sharks. He has 5 goals this season with 51 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 17 assists on the season and averages 18.3 minutes played per game. Martin Jones has 11 wins and 8 losses this year in goal for the Sharks. He has 647 shots against him and he's surrendered 57 goals. He's made 590 saves for a save percentage of 91%. Logan Couture averages 18 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 19% by scoring 15 goals on 78 shots. He has 11 assists, giving him a total of 26 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Kings have allowed 119 power play opportunities and have given up 16 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 87% this year. That is 1st in the NHL. They average 31 shots per game and as a team shoot 9.87% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 93%, which is ranked 1st in the league. The Kings has 46 total points this season, ranking 2nd in the NHL in offense. They are 10th in the league with 107 goals while they've given up 82 goals, which is 30th overall. They have had 105 power play opportunities and scored 17 goals on those chances for a percentage of 16%. That is 26th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Sharks are 29th with 88 goals scored while they are 31st in the NHL with 80 goals allowed this year. They average 33 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 8.43%. They give up 30 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%, putting them in 7th place in the league. The Sharks have a total of 38 points this year, which is 18th in the NHL. They have 23 power play goals on 112 opportunities for a percentage of 21%. That ranks their power play unit 11th. They've allowed 105 power play opportunities and have given up 15 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 86%, which is 2nd overall.

Advanced Statistics

Los Angeles has a Corsi percentage of 49.5% as they've tried 2,066 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,109 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 14th in Corsi percentage. They are 19th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 49.3% as they have 1,560 shots while they've given up 1,603 attempts on defense. The Kings start possessions in the offensive zone 51.3% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 48.7% for the year. That puts them 15th and 17th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,095 face-off wins as opposed to 1,104 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.8%. That is 16th overall in the NHL. On defense Los Angeles has 901 hits and they've blocked 506 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 19th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Sharks start possessions in the offensive zone 54.3% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 45.7% for the year. That ranks them 6th and 26th respectively in the NHL. They have 1,011 face-off wins as opposed to 963 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.2%. That is 12th in the league. On defense San Jose has 608 hits and they've blocked 513 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 16th in blocked shots. San Jose is ranked 5th in Corsi percentage with 53% as they've tried 2,094 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,857 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 4th in the NHL at 53.2%, as they have 1,526 shots while they've given up 1,344 attempts on defense.

Who will win tonight's Kings/Sharks NHL game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take San Jose

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