The San Jose Sharks and the Vegas Golden Knights meet at T-Mobile Arena in Game 1 of the NHL’s Western Conference Semis. The matchup gets going at 10 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 26, and you will be able to witness it live on NBC Sports Network.
San Jose Sharks vs. Vegas Golden Knights Odds
Vegas (-145) is currently the favorite over San Jose (+125), and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 5 goals (-120 for the under, +100 for the over). After they initially opened at -115 over and -105 under, those lines shifted.
Vegas is 55-31 straight up (SU) and has earned 20.1 units for moneyline bettors this season. In the regular season, 42 of the team’s games went over the total, while 41 went under and just three pushed. The team’s 31-12 SU at home this season.
Las Vegas converted 21.1 percent of all power-play chances in the regular season and connected on 8.3 percent in the postseason. Also, their penalty kill has gone from 82.4 percent in the regular season to 92.3 percent in the playoffs.
The Golden Knights’ offensive attack attempted 32.7 shots per game in the regular season, resulting in 3.2 goals per contest. In the postseason it is down to 1.8 goals per game.
Marc-Andre Fleury (33-17-4), averaging 28.1 saves per game, is the primary goalkeeper for the Knights. Malcolm Subban (15-7-7) is the backup.
William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault will each be focal points for the Golden Knights. Karlsson (80 points) has tallied 44 goals and 36 assists and has recorded two or more points 19 times. Meanwhile, Marchessault has 27 goals and 50 assists.
San Jose is 49-37 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 4.2 units this season. Through 86 regular season contests, 45 of its games went under the total, while 38 went over and just three pushed. As the visiting team, the Sharks are 22-21 SU.
The Sharks converted on 21.4 percent of their power play opportunities. Conversely, its penalty kill unit is ranked second and killed off 84.8 percent of penalties.
San Jose’s players committed for 3.2 penalties per game and 3.8 per game over their last five road outings. The team has had to kill penalties just 7.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Martin Jones (.919 save percentage and 2.45 goals against average) is averaging 26.3 saves per game and owns a 35-29-7 record.
San Jose Sharks at Vegas Golden Knights Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Sharks, O/U – Under
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Notes
Betting Trends
Penalties and power plays could be key in tonight’s game. The Sharks are 22-21 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 38-27 when they’re in the box for fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Golden Knights are 21-12 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 43-20 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
Vegas is 4-3 in games decided by a shootout this season while San Jose is 5-3 in shootouts.
The under has hit in three of Vegas’ last five games.
Vegas has averaged 10.2 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 9.4 giveaways per game (ranked 15th).
San Jose is ranked 20th this season with 10.0 giveaways per game. That figure has trended lower lately, however, as it’s averaged 8.2 giveaways over its last 10 games and 9.0 giveaways over its last five.
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