Minnesota Wild vs San Jose Sharks Prediction, 3/11/2023 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Minnesota Wild vs San Jose Sharks

Date: Saturday, March 11, 2023

Location: SAP Center in San Jose, CA

TV: NBC Sports California

Odds/Point Spread: Wild (-175) Sharks (+145)

The Minnesota Wild (37-21-7) are headed to SAP Center on Saturday where they will take on the San Jose Sharks (19-35-12). The moneyline on this game has Minnesota at -175 and San Jose is sitting at +145. The total is 6.

The Minnesota Wild went home feeling good about their game by earning a 4-2 win over the Jets their last time out. Minnesota accumulated 6 penalty minutes in this game. The Wild had a good offensive performance in the win. Moreover, they had 1 power play opportunity but didn't get a goal. In the game, they finished 4 of the 23 shots they put on net.

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When discussing their scoring capabilities, the Minnesota Wild have notched 179 goals (25th in hockey) for the season and have conceded 167. For the current campaign, the have a total of 81 points and their points percentage is sitting at .623. Minnesota comes into the game with 200 power play chances and they have tallied 44 goals out of those attempts, garnering them a percentage of 22.00%. While playing at even strength, the Wild have allowed 132 goals while notching 135 on offense. Minnesota has taken 2,038 shots and has a shooting percentage of 8.8%. The Wild have seen 1,964 shots taken against them and are the owners of a save percentage of .915. Minnesota Wild opponents have totaled 203 power play opportunities (15th in pro hockey) and have notched 35 goals in those chances.

The player in the crease for this game is Filip Gustavsson. Gustavsson has participated in 57 games throughout his NHL career. He has earned a record of 27-21-7 and got the start in 51 games. The opposition has been able to score 135 goals against Gustavsson in his career and his goals against average per contest is 2.47. Gustavsson has had 1,687 shots taken against him and has recorded 1,552 total saves. His save percentage is at .920 for his 3,276 mins played. From the beginning of his pro career to now, Gustavsson has accrued 35 quality starts and his quality starts percentage is at .686.

When they were on the ice last, San Jose faced the Blues in an outing where the Sharks ended up losing by a mark of 4-2. They had 4 power play attempts in this matchup but weren't able to notch a goal. The Sharks earned 2 goals out of the 34 shots on goal they pursued.

For the year, the San Jose Sharks have accumulated 190 goals, 50 points, in addition to a points percentage of .379. They have granted a total of 246 goals to be scored by way of 212 goals at even strength and 34 goals while they were shorthanded. The Sharks have earned 159 goals at even strength and 31 goals (29th in pro hockey) while on the power play. They have a tally of 177 power play opportunities and they have a power play rate of 17.51%. San Jose has tried 1,965 shots (21st in pro hockey) and has accumulated a shooting percentage of 9.67%, while allowing their opponents 2,071 shots. They have recorded a penalty kill rate of 83.08% on their opponents 201 tries on the power play, and their save percentage currently sits at 88.1%.

On the other side of the ice you are going to see Kaapo Kahkonen protecting the goal. Teams are averaging 3.18 goals per contest and he has yielded 285 goals altogether. Kahkonen's quality start percentage sits at 50.5% and he has made 46 quality starting assignments in his pro hockey career. He was named a starter in 91 games and his ice time sits at 5,378 mins. Kahkonen has a career mark of 41-39-10 and has participated in 95 games. He has accounted for 2,534 stops out of 2,819 shots taken against him, giving him a rate of .899.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Minnesota (-175)

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