The San Jose Sharks (7-13-4), one of the league’s weakest power play offenses, are on the road to face the Montreal Canadiens (11-9-1) and their suffocating penalty killing defense at Bell Centre on Tuesday. San Jose is playing their first of five games on the road coming off a 4-3 overtime loss against the Canucks on Sunday, their third defeat in a row.
The Sharks committed only two penalties in the game, holding Vancouver without a power play goal. Luke Kunin was the top goalscorer for the Sharks with two goals in regulation. Kaapo Kahkonen only had 16 saves on 20 shots against (.800%) in the loss.Montreal beat the Blackhawks 3-2 (SO) on Friday.
Joel Edmundson and Nick Suzuki both scored once for the Canadiens. Sean Monahan had two assists to lead the team in scoring. Sam Montembeault saved 30 of 32 shots in the win (.937%).
HEAD TO HEAD
The teams split their two meetings last season, the last of which was a 4-0 victory for the Canadiens in October. Josh Anderson (1G 1A) and Suzuki (0G 2A) each had two points to lead Montreal. Jake Allen saved 45 shots to earn the shutout win.
FACING OFF
San Jose is averaging 2.96 goals per game for the season, 20th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Canadiens team that is allowing 3.48 goals a game (24th). Meanwhile, Montreal has found the net 2.95 times a game on average, 21st in the league, and the Sharks are allowing opponents to score 3.58 goals per game (28th).
The Canadiens’ 30th-ranked power play offense (16.13%) will face a tough test against the Sharks, who are the league’s best penalty killing team (90.32%). San Jose, meanwhile, has scored on 21.31% of their power play opportunities (18th), which the visitors will be looking to improve on against Montreal’s 15th-ranked 79.71% penalty killing rate.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 32 points this season, sixth-most in the NHL, Erik Karlsson is the top skater for the Sharks. He is among the league leaders with 21 assists (8th) and has added 11 goals of his own. In the net, James Reimer (5-8-2) is San Jose’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 3.00 GAA and a .903% save percentage.
Suzuki leads the Canadiens in scoring with 24 points. He has 12 goals (8th) and 12 assists. Montembeault (5-2-1) has the best goals against average for Montreal at 2.47. He has a save percentage of .924%, fifth-best in the league. Allen (6-7-0) has played the most games in net for the Canadiens this season. He has a 3.62 GAA and a .891% save percentage.
HOME AND AWAY
San Jose is 5-5-0 on the road this season. Montreal is 6-5-0 at Bell Centre this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
SJ Sharks (-110)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
