San Jose Sharks at Dallas Stars NHL Picks & Predictions 12/31/2017

Sunday, December 31, 2017

American Airlines Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The San Jose Sharks travel to American Airlines Center to play the Dallas Stars on Sunday, December 31, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Sharks at +122 and the Stars at -135.

San Jose has a record of 20-11-4 this season and on the road they have a record of 8-5-2-0. They are 3rd in the Pacific Division. They've scored 98 goals and given up 86 goals for a point differential of +12. For the season they have an ATS record of 20-15-0 and an over/under record of 11-23-0. Dallas has a record of 21-15-3 including 13-4-1-0 at home this season. They are 4th in the Central Division. They've scored 116 goals and surrendered 112 for a goal differential of +4. Their record against the spread is 20-18-0 while their over/under record is 21-16-0.

Valuable San Jose Sharks Betting Trends

The San Jose Sharks are 20-15-0 straight up this year

The San Jose Sharks are 11-23-0 against the over/under this season

Important Dallas Stars Betting Trends

The Dallas Stars are 20-18-0 straight up this year

The Dallas Stars are 21-16-0 against the over/under this season

Key San Jose Sharks Injuries

12/24/17 C Logan Couture Concussion is out indefinitely
12/10/17 RW Barclay Goodrow Lower Body IR (12/08)

Key Dallas Stars Injuries

12/29/17 C Martin Hanzal Undisclosed is "?" Sunday vs San Jose
11/12/17 D Marc Methot Knee IR (11/08)

Player Spotlight

Martin Jones has 13 wins and 8 losses this season in net for the Sharks. He has 709 shots against him and he's given up 59 goals. He's made 650 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Joe Thornton has accumulated 26 total points this season for the Sharks. He has 7 goals this year with 61 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 19 assists on the season and averages 18.5 minutes played per game. Joe Thornton averages 18.5 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 7 goals on 61 shots. He has 19 assists, giving him a total of 26 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Jamie Benn has scored 35 total points this year for the Stars. He has 16 goals this season with 119 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He has a total of 19 assists on the season and averages 19.5 minutes played per game. Ben Bishop has 16 wins and 10 losses this year in goal for the Stars. He has 849 shots against him and he's surrendered 75 goals. He's made 774 saves for a save percentage of 91%. Tyler Seguin averages 20.3 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 11% by scoring 18 goals on 159 shots. He has 16 assists, giving him a total of 34 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sharks have allowed 114 power play opportunities and have given up 16 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 86% this year. That is 2nd in the NHL. They average 33 shots per game and as a team shoot 8.60% for the season. They allow 30 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 92%, which is ranked 5th in the league. The Sharks has 44 total points this season, ranking 15th in the NHL in offense. They are 29th in the league with 98 goals while they've given up 86 goals, which is 31st overall. They have had 125 power play opportunities and scored 28 goals on those chances for a percentage of 22%. That is 6th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Stars are 11th with 116 goals scored while they are 13th in the NHL with 112 goals allowed this year. They average 32 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 9.39%. They give up 30 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them in 20th place in the league. The Stars have a total of 45 points this year, which is 12th in the NHL. They have 24 power play goals on 120 opportunities for a percentage of 20%. That ranks their power play unit 11th. They've allowed 138 power play opportunities and have given up 26 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, which is 15th overall.

Advanced Statistics

San Jose has a Corsi percentage of 52.8% as they've tried 2,218 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,981 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 4th in Corsi percentage. They are 4th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 53% as they have 1,616 shots while they've given up 1,431 attempts on defense. The Sharks start possessions in the offensive zone 54.2% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 45.8% for the year. That puts them 6th and 28th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,075 face-off wins as opposed to 1,012 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.5%. That is 7th overall in the NHL. On defense San Jose has 641 hits and they've blocked 550 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 19th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Stars start possessions in the offensive zone 48.8% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 51.2% for the year. That ranks them 24th and 8th respectively in the NHL. They have 1,284 face-off wins as opposed to 1,179 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52.1%. That is 5th in the league. On defense Dallas has 792 hits and they've blocked 553 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 17th in blocked shots. Dallas is ranked 8th in Corsi percentage with 51.7% as they've tried 2,263 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,113 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 8th in the NHL at 51.6%, as they have 1,661 shots while they've given up 1,560 attempts on defense.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Dallas -135

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