San Jose Sharks at Montreal Canadiens NHL Picks & Predictions 1/2/2018

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Bell Centre

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The San Jose Sharks head to Bell Centre to take on the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, January 2, 2018.

San Jose has a record of 20-11-4 this year and away from home they have a record of 8-5-2-0. They are 3rd in the Pacific Division. They have tallied 98 goals and surrendered 86 goals for a point differential of +12. For the year they have an ATS mark of 20-15-0 and an over/under record of 11-23-0. Montreal has a record of 16-19-4 including 9-7-3-0 on home ice this year. They are 5th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 100 goals and have given up 122 for a goal differential of -22. Their record against the spread is 16-23-0 while their over/under mark is 16-21-0.

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 Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends

The Montreal Canadiens are 16-23-0 straight up this year

The Montreal Canadiens are 16-21-0 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 Montreal Canadiens Injuries

12/18/17 D Shea Weber Foot IR (12/17)
11/12/17 GO Al Montoya Concussion IR (11/09)
10/22/17 RW Ales Hemsky Concussion IR (10/20)

Player Spotlight

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

Player Spotlight

Brendan Gallagher has 21 total points this season for the Canadiens. He has 15 goals this year with 122 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 6 assists on the year and averages 15.2 minutes played per contest. Max Pacioretty averages 19.3 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 5% by scoring 8 goals on 147 attempts. He has 12 assists, giving him a total of 20 points on the year. Carey Price has 11 wins and 13 losses this season in net for the Canadiens. He has 787 shots against him and he's given up 73 goals. He's made 714 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sharks have 44 total points this year, which is 15th in the NHL. They've scored 98 goals while giving up 86 scores, which has them ranked 29th and 31st respectively. They have had 125 power play chances and scored 28 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 22%. That is 6th in the league. The Sharks have given up 114 power play opportunities and surrendered 16 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 86%, ranking them 2nd when short-handed. They average 33 shots per contest and as a team shoot 8.60% for the year. They allow 30 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 92%, which is 6th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canadiens are 27th in the league with a total of 36 points this season. They have 22 power play goals on 115 chances for a percentage of 19%. That is 16th in the NHL. They've given up 130 power play opportunities and surrendered 29 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, ranking 25th overall. As a team, the Canadiens are 27th with a total of 100 goals scored while they've given up 122 goals this season, ranking 7th in goals against. They average 34 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 7.62%. As a unit they give up 32 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 21st overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

San Jose is 4th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 52.8%, as they've attempted 2,218 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,981 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 53% as they have 1,616 attempts while they have given up 1,431 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 4th in the league. The Sharks start possessions in the offensive zone 54.2% of the time, which is 6th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 45.8% for the season. That is 28th overall in the NHL. They have 1,075 face-off wins compared to 1,012 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.5%. That ranks them 7th in the league. On defense San Jose has 641 hits and they have blocked 550 shots from the opposition, putting them 20th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Canadiens are 11th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 52.3% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 47.7% for the season, which is 23rd in the NHL. They have 1,205 face-off wins compared to 1,246 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.2%. That is 24th in the league. On defense Montreal has 951 hits and they have blocked 639 shots from the opposition, which is 1st in the league. Montreal is 12th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.5% as they've attempted 2,410 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,361 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 50.6% ranks 13th as they have 1,766 attempts while they have given up 1,722 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take San Jose

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