The Vegas Golden Knights vs. San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals. The game gets started at 7:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 6 and it is being shown live on NBC Sports Network.
Vegas Golden Knights at San Jose Sharks Odds
With a -140 moneyline, San Jose comes into the contest as the heavy favorite. The line for Vegas sits at +120, and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-125 for the under, +105 for the over).
Vegas is 58-33 straight up (SU) and has earned 20.3 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 91 regular season outings, 46 of its games have gone over the total, while 42 have gone under and just three have pushed. As an away team in 2017-18, the Knights are 25-20 SU.
Following a regular season where they scored on 21.2 percent of all power-play chances (the 10th-best), the Golden Knights have connected on 17.9 percent of their postseason power plays. Their penalty kill’s gone from 82.2 percent in the regular season to 84.2 percent in the playoffs.
Vegas’ offense attempted 32.8 shots per game in the regular season, leading to 3.3 goals per outing (ranked fourth overall in the NHL). In the postseason, the club is managing an average of 33.3 shots on goal 2.9 goals per game.
Averaging 28.6 saves per game with a .931 save percentage, Marc-Andre Fleury (36-19-5) has been the top option in goal for Vegas this season. If head coach Gerard Gallant decides to rest him, however, the team might roll with Malcolm Subban (15-7-2), who has a .910 save percentage and 2.68 goals against average this year.
The visiting Golden Knights will be led by William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault. Karlsson (87 points) is up to 47 goals and 40 assists, and has recorded two or more points in 22 different games. Marchessault has 30 goals and 55 assists to his credit (and has registered a point in 50 games).
On the other bench, San Jose is 51-40 straight up (SU) and has earned 3.5 units for moneyline bettors this year. 46 of its contests have gone under the total, while 42 have gone over and just three have pushed. It’s 28-17 SU at home this season.
San Jose has converted on 21.3 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked second overall, and it’s successfully killed off 84.1 percent of all penalties.
San Jose players have been penalized only 3.5 times per game in total this season, and 5.1 per game over their past ten match ups. The team has had to defend opponent power plays a whopping 19.4 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Martin Jones has stopped 26.2 shots per game as the top netminder in goal for San Jose. Jones has 37 wins, 32 losses, and eight overtime losses and has registered a .916 save percentage and 2.51 goals against average this season.
The Sharks will be led on offense by Joe Pavelski (24 goals, 50 assists) and Brent Burns (15 goals, 59 assists).
Vegas Golden Knights at San Jose Sharks Betting Predictions
Free Pick: SU Winner – Sharks, O/U – Under
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Notes
Betting Notes
The total has gone over in four of San Jose’s last five outings.
This game features two clubs that attempt a lot of shots on goal. Vegas has taken the league’s 10th-most shots on goal (32.8) and San Jose has attempted the eighth-most (33.1).
Power plays and penalty kills may be even more critical than usual in tonight’s matchup. The Golden Knights are 24-12 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 44-20 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Sharks are 23-21 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 38-27 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
San Jose has averaged 9.6 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 8.6 takeaways per game (ranked 5th).
Vegas is ranked second in the NHL with 10.5 takeaways per game. That figure has trended upward, as it’s managed 11.5 takeaways over its last 10 games and 13.6 takeaways over its last five.
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