The San Jose Sharks (22-39-16), one of the NHL’s top penalty killing teams, host the Colorado Avalanche (46-24-6) and their opportunistic power play offense at SAP Center at San Jose on Thursday. The teams will be playing their second straight game against each other.
Colorado beat the Sharks 4-3 (OT) on Tuesday, their seventh road win in a row and their fifth straight head-to-head against San Jose. Nathan MacKinnon was the top goalscorer for the Avalanche with two goals. Kevin Labanc scored twice to lead the Sharks. Alexandar Georgiev allowed three goals on 31 shots against (.903%) in the win.
FACING OFF
Colorado is averaging 3.29 goals per game for the season, 13th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Sharks team that is allowing 3.75 goals a game (30th). Meanwhile, San Jose has found the net 2.92 times a game on average, 23rd in the league, and the Avalanche are allowing opponents to score 2.72 goals per game (6th).
The Avalanche’s third-ranked power play offense (25.00%) will face a tough test against the Sharks, who are the league’s third-best penalty killing team (83.47%). San Jose, meanwhile, has scored on 18.57% of their power play opportunities (25th), which the home team will be seeking to add to against Colorado’s 17th-ranked 78.79% penalty killing rate.
TOP PERFORMERS:
MacKinnon (100 points), Mikko Rantanen (94), and Cale Makar (66) have been the top skaters this season for the Avalanche. MacKinnon is the seventh-leading point scorer in the NHL. Rantanen is among the league leaders with his 49 goals (4th), while MacKinnon is among the league leaders with his 64 assists (7th).
Makar has also been a top player for Colorado, scoring 17 and assisting 49. In the net, Pavel Francouz (7-7-1) is Colorado’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.53 GAA and a .919% save percentage. Georgiev (36-16-5) leads the Avalanche in games played in goal. He has a GAA of 2.54 and a save percentage of .918%.
Erik Karlsson leads the Sharks in scoring with 96 points (10th in the league). He has 22 goals and 74 assists (3rd) in 77 games. James Reimer (12-18-8) has the best goals against average for San Jose at 3.30. He has a save percentage of .895%.
HOME AND AWAY
Colorado is 25-11-1 away from home this season. San Jose is 8-20-11 at SAP Center at San Jose this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Colorado Avalanche (-225)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
