Colorado Avalanche at San Jose Sharks NHL Picks & Predictions 4/5/2018

Thursday, April 5, 2018

SAP Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Colorado Avalanche travel to SAP Center to play the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, April 5, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Avalanche at +158 and the Sharks at -175.

Colorado has a record of 42-29-9 this season and on the road they have a record of 15-18-7-1. They are 4th in the Central Division. They've scored 250 goals and given up 231 goals for a point differential of +19. For the season they have an ATS record of 42-38-0 and an over/under record of 40-33-0. San Jose has a record of 44-26-10 including 24-12-3-1 at home this season. They are 2nd in the Pacific Division. They've scored 245 goals and surrendered 221 for a goal differential of +24. Their record against the spread is 44-36-0 while their over/under record is 35-43-0.

Valuable Colorado Avalanche Betting Trends

The Colorado Avalanche are 42-38-0 straight up this year

The Colorado Avalanche are 40-33-0 against the over/under this season

Important San Jose Sharks Betting Trends

The San Jose Sharks are 44-36-0 straight up this year

The San Jose Sharks are 35-43-0 against the over/under this season

Key Colorado Avalanche Injuries

03/31/18 D Erik Johnson Leg is out indefinitely
03/31/18 GO Semyon Varlamov Lower Body is out indefinitely
01/30/18 D Mark Barberio Lower Body IR (01/24)

Key San Jose Sharks Injuries

04/03/18 LW Evander Kane Undisclosed is "?" Thursday vs Colorado
04/03/18 RW Eric Fehr Lower Body is "?" Thursday vs Colorado
03/30/18 RW Barclay Goodrow Upper Body is out indefinitely
03/19/18 D Joakim Ryan Upper Body is out indefinitely
01/24/18 C Joe Thornton MCL IR (01/23)

Player Spotlight

Jonathan Bernier has 18 wins and 12 losses this season in net for the Avalanche. He has 1,023 shots against him and he's given up 90 goals. He's made 933 saves for a save percentage of 91%. Mikko Rantanen has accumulated 82 total points this season for the Avalanche. He has 28 goals this year with 174 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 54 assists on the season and averages 18.9 minutes played per game. Nathan MacKinnon averages 19.8 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 38 goals on 273 shots. He has 56 assists, giving him a total of 94 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Logan Couture has scored 59 total points this year for the Sharks. He has 33 goals this season with 198 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 17%. He has a total of 26 assists on the season and averages 18.6 minutes played per game. Martin Jones has 29 wins and 21 losses this year in goal for the Sharks. He has 1,655 shots against him and he's surrendered 138 goals. He's made 1,517 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Brent Burns averages 25.2 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 3% by scoring 11 goals on 321 shots. He has 54 assists, giving him a total of 65 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Avalanche have allowed 265 power play opportunities and have given up 43 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 84% this year. That is 3rd in the NHL. They average 30 shots per game and as a team shoot 10.56% for the season. They allow 33 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is ranked 6th in the league. The Avalanche has 93 total points this season, ranking 16th in the NHL in offense. They are 10th in the league with 250 goals while they've given up 231 goals, which is 18th overall. They have had 292 power play opportunities and scored 63 goals on those chances for a percentage of 22%. That is 11th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Sharks are 11th with 245 goals scored while they are 23rd in the NHL with 221 goals allowed this year. They average 33 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 9.29%. They give up 30 shots per game and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them in 13th place in the league. The Sharks have a total of 98 points this year, which is 9th in the NHL. They have 52 power play goals on 253 opportunities for a percentage of 21%. That ranks their power play unit 15th. They've allowed 222 power play opportunities and have given up 33 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 85%, which is 1st overall.

Advanced Statistics

Colorado is 27th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 46.8%, as they've attempted 4,354 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,940 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 46.7% as they have 3,230 attempts while they have given up 3,682 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 28th in the league. The Avalanche start possessions in the offensive zone 49% of the time, which is 22nd in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 51% for the season. That is 7th overall in the NHL. They have 2,063 face-off wins compared to 2,627 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 44%. That ranks them 31st in the league. On defense Colorado has 1,580 hits and they have blocked 1,258 shots from the opposition, putting them 4th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Sharks are 12th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 51.8% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 48.2% for the season, which is 22nd in the NHL. They have 2,498 face-off wins compared to 2,380 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.2%. That is 11th in the league. On defense San Jose has 1,346 hits and they have blocked 1,330 shots from the opposition, which is 1st in the league. San Jose is 12th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.7% as they've attempted 4,874 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,731 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 52.1% ranks 8th as they have 3,700 attempts while they have given up 3,401 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take San Jose -175

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