Vancouver Canucks at San Jose Sharks NHL Picks & Predictions 12/21/2017

Thursday, December 21, 2017

SAP Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Vancouver Canucks travel to SAP Center to play the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, December 21, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Canucks at +184 and the Sharks at -205.

Vancouver has a record of 15-16-4 this season and on the road they have a record of 9-7-1. They are 6th in the Pacific Division. They've scored 93 goals and given up 113 goals for a point differential of -20. For the season they have an ATS record of 15-20-0 and an over/under record of 20-15-0. San Jose is 17-11-4 including 9-6-2 at home this season. They are 3rd in the Pacific Division. They've scored 88 goals and surrendered 80 for a goal differential of +8. Their record against the spread is 17-15-0 while their over/under record is 10-21-0.

Valuable Vancouver Canucks Betting Trends

The Vancouver Canucks are 15-20-0 straight up this year

The Vancouver Canucks are 20-15-0 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 Vancouver Canucks Injuries

12/16/17 D Christopher Tanev Groin IR (12/13)
12/14/17 LW Sven Baertschi Jaw IR (12/09)
12/07/17 C Bo Horvat Ankle IR (12/05)
11/27/17 C Brandon Sutter Upper Body IR (11/25)

Key San Jose Sharks Injuries

12/18/17 C Logan Couture Concussion is "?" Thursday vs Vancouver
12/10/17 RW Barclay Goodrow Lower Body IR (12/08)

Player Spotlight

Thomas Vanek has accumulated 22 total points this season for the Canucks. He has 10 goals this year with 68 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 12 assists on the season and averages 13.5 minutes played per game. Brock Boeser averages 16.2 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 21% by scoring 18 goals on 87 shots. He has 14 assists, giving him a total of 32 points on the season. Jacob Markstrom has 9 wins and 11 losses this season in net for the Canucks. He has 686 shots against him and he's given up 64 goals. He's made 622 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

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. 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. 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%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canucks have 34 total points this season, which ranks them 25th in the NHL. They are 23rd in the league in goals scored with 93 while they've given up 113 goals, ranking them 5th overall. They have had 122 power play opportunities and have scored 28 goals on those chances for a percentage of 23%. That is 6th in the NHL. The Canucks have allowed 125 power play opportunities and have given up 27 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, putting them 23rd in the league when short-handed. They average 29 shots per game and as a team shoot 9.09% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%. That puts them 23rd in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sharks are 17th in the NHL with a total of 38 points this year. They have 23 power play goals on 112 opportunities for a percentage of 21%. That ranks them 11th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 105 power play opportunities and have given up 15 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 86%. That is 2nd in the NHL. As a team, the Sharks are 29th in the league with 88 goals scored while they've given up 80 goals, which is 31st overall. They average 33 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 8.43%. As a team they give up 30 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%. That is 7th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Vancouver has a Corsi percentage of 48.2% as they've tried 1,840 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,978 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 27th in Corsi percentage. They are 29th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 47.3% as they have 1,376 shots while they've given up 1,535 attempts on defense. The Canucks start possessions in the offensive zone 50.5% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.5% for the year. That puts them 17th and 15th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,033 face-off wins as opposed to 1,093 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.6%. That is 25th overall in the NHL. On defense Vancouver has 618 hits and they've blocked 443 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 29th 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 981 face-off wins as opposed to 935 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.2%. That is 13th in the league. On defense San Jose has 596 hits and they've blocked 503 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 12th in blocked shots. San Jose is ranked 5th in Corsi percentage with 53.1% as they've tried 2,031 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,795 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 5th in the NHL at 53.4%, as they have 1,478 shots while they've given up 1,292 attempts on defense.

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

Tony's Pick: Take San Jose -205

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