Minnesota Wild vs San Jose Sharks Prediction, 12/9/2021 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Minnesota Wild vs San Jose Sharks

Date: Thursday, December 9, 2021

Location: SAP Center in San Jose, CA

TV: NBC Sports California

Odds/Point Spread: Wild (-141) Sharks (+117)

SAP Center is the venue where James Reimer and the San Jose Sharks (14-11-1) will play the Minnesota Wild (18-6-1) on Thursday. The Sharks open this game at +117 while the Wild are coming in at -141. The O/U has been set at 5.5.

The Wild were on the winning side of the scoreboard with a 4-1 victory against the Oilers their last time on the ice. Their offensive zone starts came in at 39.4% and they had a PDO of 109.9 for this one. They amassed 20 face-off wins at even strength and lost on 18 opportunities to take control of the puck. Their Fenwick was 29 and the Fenwick against was 44, giving them a Fenwick rate of 39.7%. The Corsi for the Wild was sitting at 37 and the Corsi against when the final whistle blew was 55 meaning they had a Corsi percentage of 40.2%. Minnesota amassed 4 mins in the box for this matchup. They also had 2 chances with the advantage and were able to net 1 goal. The Wild had a solid offensive performance and it showed in this win. In the game, they earned a goal on 4 of the 26 shots they looked to score on.

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With regard to their scoring capabilities, the Minnesota Wild have earned 93 goals (2nd in pro hockey) so far this year and have given up 71. For the current season, they have earned 37 points and their points percentage comes in at .740. Minnesota has 81 power play chances and they have scored 12 goals out of those attempts, earning them a percentage of 14.81%. When playing at even strength, the Wild have conceded 55 goals while getting 81 on offense. Minnesota has tried 846 shots and is the owner of a shooting percentage of 11.0%. The Wild have had 781 shots tried against them and are the owners of a save percentage of .909. Minnesota Wild opponents have totaled 88 power play tries (2nd in hockey) and have scored 16 goals in those chances.

The man in goal for this game is Cam Talbot. From the beginning of his pro career to now, Talbot has earned 187 quality starts and his rate for quality starts is .531. He has a save percentage of .915 for his 21,000 mins on the ice. Talbot has seen 10,799 shot attempts taken against him and he has 9,886 saves. The opposition has notched 913 goals against Talbot in his career and his goals against rate is 2.61. He has amassed an overall mark of 183-135-30 and he started in 352 games. Talbot has played in 366 matchups over the course of his NHL career.

When they took the ice last, San Jose faced off against the Flames in an outing where the Sharks notched a victory by a tally of 5-3. Their PDO at even strength was 106 and their oZS percentage was 46.2%. They had 2 chances on the power play in this game and recorded 2 goals out of those attempts. Their Fenwick rate came in at 36.1% by way of having a Fenwick of 30 and the Flames having racked up a 53 Fenwick. The Sharks converted 5 goals out of the 27 shots on goal they attempted. San Jose earned a 38.3% Corsi rate. These Corsi stats tell us the story of the kind of game San Jose had and it was an excellent showing for this outing.

This season, the San Jose Sharks are sitting with 71 goals, 29 points, as well as a points percentage of .558. They have permitted 70 goals to be scored by of a combination of 62 goals at even strength and 8 goals while they had less men on the ice. The Sharks have earned 58 goals at even strength and 13 goals (19th in the NHL) while on the power play. They have a total of 67 opportunities on the power play and they have accumulated a power play percentage of 19.40%. San Jose has tried 748 shots (18th in pro hockey) and has a shooting percentage of 9.49%, while allowing the opposition 791 shots. They have recorded a penalty kill percentage of 87.88% on their opponents 66 power play tries, and their save percentage comes in at 91.2%.

Across the ice you are going to see James Reimer protecting the net. He has accrued 10,597 stops out of the 11,596 shots attempted against him, giving him a save percentage of .914. Reimer has a career record of 181-135-44 and has been in net for 399 games. He has been a starter 363 contests and has been on the ice for 21,695 mins. Reimer's quality start rate comes out to 51.5% and he has accumulated 187 quality starting assignments in his hockey career. Teams are averaging 2.76 goals per game and he has relinquished 999 goals overall.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Minnesota (-141)

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