The San Jose Sharks (12-20-7), one of the league’s weakest power play offenses, are on the road to face the Anaheim Ducks (11-24-4) and their suffocating penalty killing defense at Honda Center on Friday.
San Jose is coming off a 5-2 win over the Blackhawks on Sunday, snapping a streak of three consecutive defeats. Five players found the net for the Sharks. Kaapo Kahkonen saved 20 of 22 shots in the win.Anaheim beat the Stars 2-0 on Wednesday.
Mason McTavish and Adam Henrique each scored once for the Ducks. McTavish added an assist to lead the team in scoring. John Gibson had a dominant performance with 35 saves to earn his zeroth shutout of the season.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Ducks have won two of the three games between the teams this season, although the Sharks were 6-1 victors in their most recent meeting in December. Five players had two points for San Jose. Trevor Zegras scored Anaheim’s only goal. Eetu Makiniemi got the win, saving 23 of 24 shots (.958%).
FACING OFF
San Jose is averaging 3.05 goals per game for the season, 22nd in the NHL, and they are taking on a Ducks team that is allowing 4.00 goals a game (32nd). Meanwhile, Anaheim has found the net 2.23 times a game on average, 31st in the league, and the Sharks are allowing opponents to score 3.64 goals per game (26th).
Anaheim averages fewer shots a game (28.9) than most teams in the league, ranking 29th, while the team’s 8.0% shooting percentage is 32nd. San Jose has proven to be one of the league’s less successful shot-stopping teams, ranking No. 29 with a team save percentage of .888%.
Expect multiple power play opportunities for the Sharks, as the Ducks have been penalized 4.85 times a game, third-most in the NHL, for an average of 11.97 minutes (fourth-highest). The visitors are averaging 3.41 penalties (3rd-fewest in the league) and 8.08 penalty minutes a game (7th-fewest).
The Ducks’ 31st-ranked power play offense (15.04%) will be put to the test against the Sharks, who are the league’s third-best penalty killing team (84.07%).
San Jose, meanwhile, has scored on 21.62% of their power play opportunities (18th), which the visitors will be seeking to improve on against Anaheim’s 30th-ranked 71.33% penalty killing rate.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 53 points this season, fifth-most in the NHL, Erik Karlsson is the top skater for the Sharks. He leads the league with 40 assists and has added 13 goals of his own. In the net, James Reimer (7-11-3) is San Jose’s top goaltender by goals against average.
He has a 3.18 GAA and a .896% save percentage. Troy Terry leads the Ducks in scoring with 32 points. He has 12 goals and 20 assists. Gibson (6-16-3) has the best goals against average for Anaheim at 3.98. He has a save percentage of .897%.
HOME AND AWAY
San Jose is 8-10-1 away from SAP Center at San Jose this season. Anaheim is 7-10-1 at Honda Center this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
SJ Sharks (-160)
Want up to a $1K risk free bet for this pick?
Claim with 
today!
If you need more news, information and predictions, head over to our NHL hub page for all your hockey needs!
*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
