San Jose Sharks at Columbus Blue Jackets NHL Picks & Predictions 2/2/2018

Friday, February 2, 2018

Nationwide Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The San Jose Sharks travel to Nationwide Arena to play the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday, February 2, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Sharks at +129 and the Blue Jackets at -143.

San Jose has a record of 26-16-8 this season and on the road they have a record of 12-9-5-2. They are 2nd in the Pacific Division. They've scored 146 goals and given up 140 goals for a point differential of +6. For the season they have an ATS record of 26-24-0 and an over/under record of 19-30-0. Columbus has a record of 27-19-4 including 16-8-1-1 at home this season. They are 4th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 133 goals and surrendered 140 for a goal differential of -7. Their record against the spread is 27-23-0 while their over/under record is 21-28-0.

Valuable San Jose Sharks Betting Trends

The San Jose Sharks are 26-24-0 straight up this year

The San Jose Sharks are 19-30-0 against the over/under this season

Important Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Trends

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 27-23-0 straight up this year

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 21-28-0 against the over/under this season

Key San Jose Sharks Injuries

01/31/18 D Marc-Edouard Vlasic Knee is "?" Friday vs Columbus
01/24/18 C Joe Thornton MCL IR (01/23)

Key Columbus Blue Jackets Injuries

12/01/17 D Ryan Murray Upper Body IR (11/27)
01/17/18 LW Sonny Milano Oblique IR (01/08)

Player Spotlight

Martin Jones has 14 wins and 12 losses this season in net for the Sharks. He has 926 shots against him and he's given up 82 goals. He's made 844 saves for a save percentage of 91%. Brent Burns has accumulated 42 total points this season for the Sharks. He has 8 goals this year with 214 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 4%. He has a total of 34 assists on the season and averages 25.3 minutes played per game. Logan Couture averages 18.3 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 17% by scoring 21 goals on 123 shots. He has 16 assists, giving him a total of 37 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Seth Jones has scored 33 total points this year for the Blue Jackets. He has 8 goals this season with 154 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 5%. He has a total of 25 assists on the season and averages 24.9 minutes played per game. Sergei Bobrovsky has 22 wins and 15 losses this year in goal for the Blue Jackets. He has 1,286 shots against him and he's surrendered 101 goals. He's made 1,185 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Artemi Panarin averages 20.5 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 9% by scoring 13 goals on 140 shots. He has 28 assists, giving him a total of 41 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sharks have allowed 157 power play opportunities and have given up 25 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 84% this year. That is 2nd in the NHL. They average 33 shots per game and as a team shoot 8.89% for the season. They allow 30 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is ranked 18th in the league. The Sharks has 60 total points this season, ranking 10th in the NHL in offense. They are 17th in the league with 146 goals while they've given up 140 goals, which is 21st overall. They have had 174 power play opportunities and scored 40 goals on those chances for a percentage of 23%. That is 5th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Blue Jackets are 25th with 133 goals scored while they are 20th in the NHL with 140 goals allowed this year. They average 34 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 7.93%. They give up 32 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%, putting them in 11th place in the league. The Blue Jackets have a total of 58 points this year, which is 17th in the NHL. They have 20 power play goals on 142 opportunities for a percentage of 14%. That ranks their power play unit 31st. They've allowed 131 power play opportunities and have given up 30 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%, which is 27th overall.

Advanced Statistics

San Jose is 7th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.8%, as they've attempted 3,116 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,903 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 52.4% as they have 2,316 attempts while they have given up 2,101 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 7th in the league. The Sharks start possessions in the offensive zone 53.8% of the time, which is 5th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 46.2% for the season. That is 28th overall in the NHL. They have 1,517 face-off wins compared to 1,488 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.5%. That ranks them 14th in the league. On defense San Jose has 876 hits and they have blocked 802 shots from the opposition, putting them 4th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Blue Jackets are 9th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 51.7% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 48.3% for the season, which is 22nd in the NHL. They have 1,457 face-off wins compared to 1,604 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.6%. That is 26th in the league. On defense Columbus has 1,092 hits and they have blocked 762 shots from the opposition, which is 11th in the league. Columbus is 10th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.5% as they've attempted 2,962 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,905 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 51.7% ranks 5th as they have 2,298 attempts while they have given up 2,143 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Columbus -143

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Read more articles by Josh Schonwald