San Jose Sharks at Chicago Blackhawks NHL Picks & Predictions 2/23/2018

Friday, February 23, 2018

United Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The San Jose Sharks travel to United Center to play the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, February 23, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Sharks at +118 and the Blackhawks at -130.

San Jose has a record of 33-19-8 this season and on the road they have a record of 16-10-5-2. They are 2nd in the Pacific Division. They've scored 178 goals and given up 163 goals for a point differential of +15. For the season they have an ATS record of 33-27-0 and an over/under record of 22-36-0. Chicago is 26-27-8 including 14-14-3-0 at home this season. They are 7th in the Central Division. They've scored 173 goals and surrendered 175 for a goal differential of -2. Their record against the spread is 26-35-0 while their over/under record is 26-32-0.

Valuable San Jose Sharks Betting Trends

The San Jose Sharks are 33-27-0 straight up this year

The San Jose Sharks are 22-36-0 against the over/under this season

Important Chicago Blackhawks Betting Trends

The Chicago Blackhawks are 26-35-0 straight up this year

The Chicago Blackhawks are 26-32-0 against the over/under this season

Key San Jose Sharks Injuries

02/20/18 RW Marcus Sorensen Wrist injured last game, is "?" Thursday vs Nashville
02/19/18 RW Joel Ward Upper Body IR (02/12)
02/19/18 C Tomas Hertl Upper Body IR (02/17)
01/24/18 C Joe Thornton MCL IR (01/23)

Key Chicago Blackhawks Injuries

12/27/17 GO Corey Crawford Vertigo IR (12/26)
10/05/17 RW Marian Hossa Infection IR (10/03)
10/05/15 D Michal Rozsival Upper Body IR (10/03)
02/16/18 D Jan Rutta Upper Body IR (02/05)

Player Spotlight

Logan Couture has accumulated 46 total points this season for the Sharks. He has 24 goals this year with 146 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 22 assists on the season and averages 18.4 minutes played per game. Brent Burns averages 25.2 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 4% by scoring 10 goals on 247 shots. He has 40 assists, giving him a total of 50 points on the season. Martin Jones has 19 wins and 15 losses this season in net for the Sharks. He has 1,164 shots against him and he's given up 98 goals. He's made 1,066 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Patrick Kane has scored 57 total points this year for the Blackhawks. He has 23 goals this season with 219 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 34 assists on the season and averages 20.3 minutes played per game. Jonathan Toews averages 19.7 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 9% by scoring 16 goals on 180 shots. He has 24 assists, giving him a total of 40 points on the season. Anton Forsberg has 7 wins and 12 losses this year in goal for the Blackhawks. He has 677 shots against him and he's surrendered 61 goals. He's made 616 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sharks have 74 total points this season, which ranks them 9th in the NHL. They are 14th in the league in goals scored with 178 while they've given up 163 goals, ranking them 23rd overall. They have had 196 power play opportunities and have scored 44 goals on those chances for a percentage of 22%. That is 4th in the NHL. The Sharks have allowed 177 power play opportunities and have given up 28 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 84%, putting them 1st in the league when short-handed. They average 33 shots per game and as a team shoot 9.06% for the season. They allow 30 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%. That puts them 12th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blackhawks are 22nd in the NHL with a total of 60 points this year. They have 35 power play goals on 221 opportunities for a percentage of 16%. That ranks them 29th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 186 power play opportunities and have given up 32 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%. That is 6th in the NHL. As a team, the Blackhawks are 17th in the league with 173 goals scored while they've given up 175 goals, which is 17th overall. They average 35 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 8.16%. As a team they give up 32 shots per game and have a save percentage of 91%. That is 13th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

San Jose has a Corsi percentage of 51.3% as they've tried 3,683 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 3,501 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 13th in Corsi percentage. They are 9th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 52.2% as they have 2,763 shots while they've given up 2,531 attempts on defense. The Sharks start possessions in the offensive zone 52.8% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.2% for the year. That puts them 8th and 25th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,837 face-off wins as opposed to 1,766 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51%. That is 12th overall in the NHL. On defense San Jose has 1,005 hits and they've blocked 970 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 3rd in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Blackhawks are 2nd in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 57.5% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 42.5% for the season, which is 30th in the NHL. They have 1,873 face-off wins compared to 1,897 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.7%. That is 13th in the league. On defense Chicago has 1,088 hits and they have blocked 850 shots from the opposition, which is 22nd in the league. Chicago is 2nd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 53.8% as they've attempted 4,069 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,501 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 51.8% ranks 6th as they have 2,853 attempts while they have given up 2,651 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Chicago -130

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