The San Jose Sharks head to Little Caesars Arena to face the Detroit Red Wings tonight in a rematch of 2 totally different teams. The puck drops at 7:00 PM ET, and Detroit comes in now as heavy favorites at -225 on the moneyline and San Jose sits at just +185.
Both teams are at opposite ends of momentum, with Detroit looking to extend their 7-game win streak and San Jose trying to snap out of a rough stretch of a 3-game skid.
Of course, this game seems lopsided, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t good bets to be had.
Detroit has been the better team this season and enters this matchup on a super-hot streak after hiring their new coach.
At 20-18-4, they haven’t always been a middle-of-the-pack team in the Eastern Conference but are now firmly superior to a Sharks team sitting at a dismal 13-26-6 record.
The Red Wings’ offense led by Alex DeBrincat with his 19 goals and Lucas Raymond with his 17 goals and 29 assists has been firing on all cylinders lately. The Wings are averaging 4+ goals per game during their current winning streak. On top of that, their power play unit has been the NHL’s best over the same streak.
San Jose’s struggles have been well-documented this season and they’re not looking like they’re improving, even though they do have an interim coach.
Their defense is statistically the worst in the league. They’ve allowed a staggering 154 goals in 45 games.
Offensively, their production has been anything but consistent. While Mikael Granlund with 25 assists and Tyler Toffoli with 15 goals lead the team in points, they lack the scoring depth needed to compete with stronger teams like Detroit.
The Red Wings come into this game with tons of momentum to their back. They’ve won 7 straight games, including decisive victories over playoff-caliber teams like Columbus (5-4) and Winnipeg (4-2). Their offense is obviously the leader during this stretch as they’ve notched 23 goals. That’s not to say their defense has been all that bad either as they held opponents to under 3 goals per game. Goaltender Cam Talbot has played a key role, improving his season save percentage to .903 and recording his 10th win of the year.
On the other side of the ice, the Sharks are reeling and not looking good.
They’ve lost 3 straight games and are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games. Their most recent defeat came against Minnesota, where they managed just a single goal in a 3-1 loss. San Jose’s offense has unquestionably struggled, scoring only 4 goals in their last 3 games and it doesn’t seem that tonight’s game will be any different. Their goaltending situation isn’t helping, either, as Vitek Vanecek and his 3.84 GAA and .885 SV% have had a rough season.
Detroit’s power play could be the deciding factor in this matchup.
The Red Wings rank 2nd in the league on the power play on the season converting at 28.6%, while the Sharks sit dead last in penalty killing at 69.1%. San Jose has been undoubtedly undisciplined and against a team like Detroit giving up penalties will definitely spell disaster.
The Red Wings also boast a strong shooting percentage at 11.2%, while San Jose’s offense struggles to convert opportunities at 9.4%. Even at even strength, Detroit is the more efficient and dangerous team coming into tonight’s game.
Defensively, the Sharks’ inability to limit goals has been their Achilles heel all season long.
They’ve allowed 3.42 goals per game and rank 31st in goals against. Compared to Detroit’s more respectable 19th-place mark, this is a big tilt. With the Red Wings averaging 4+ goals per game in their last 5 outings, this is another huge mismatch in Detroit’s favor.
Despite San Jose taking the first game of the series, this game feels lopsided in every way. These are 2 totally different teams.
Detroit has the better offense, defense, and even special teams. They’re playing at home and are coming in with a ton of momentum and confidence after a strong winning streak. San Jose, on the other hand, has been unable to find any consistency and ranks at or near the bottom of the league in countless key categories.
The last time these 2 teams faced each other on November 18, the Sharks squeaked out a 5-4 win in overtime. However, that game feels like an outlier given the current trajectory of both teams since that time. Detroit is without a doubt playing some of its best hockey of the season, while San Jose has regressed quite a bit.
BettorsInsiders Prediction: Detroit Red Wings 5, San Jose Sharks 2
Best Bet: Detroit Red Wings -1.5 on the puck line at +115
Detroit’s offense is on an absolute tear, and their power play with dominate San Jose’s poor penalty kill. We’re thinking that the puck line offers great value in a game where the Red Wings are expected to dominate and clearing 2 goals should be no problem at all. San Jose has struggled to keep games close against stronger teams, and with Detroit’s recent streak, it’s hard to see the Sharks making this anything even close to tight. We’re expecting a convincing win for the home team.