NHL Bet: Minnesota Wild at San Jose Sharks

Mar 19, 2008 | By Scott Burgess | Picks Articles Archive

The Minnesota Wild will be fighting for their lives to stay on top of the Northwest Standings when they face off against the San Jose Sharks, who have the chance to tie the franchise record for most home wins in a season. BetUS.com has the Sharks as 160-moneyline favs over the Wild with the over/under set at 5. Get your NHL Bet in now at BetUS.com. Where players PLAY!

GAME: Minnesota Wild (39-26-2-6) at San Jose Sharks (43-21-3-6)
DATE/TIME: Wednesday, March 19 - 10:30 PM EST
LINE: BetUS TOTAL: 5
PICK: San Jose -160

The Wild have won back to back games after riding a five game losing streak, three of which were shootout losses. They recently beat Colorado 3-1 at home to put them in sole position atop of the Northwestern Standings, but with Vancouver, Calgary and Colorado just two points back. Niklas Backstrom stopped 29 shots and Brent Burns and Branko Radivojevic had goals for the Wild, who have outscored opponents 5-1 in their last two games. In their last five games they’ve averaged 2.40 GAG and their power play has been held to three goals in eight games or 32 tries. Their defense has been solid on the penalty kill; they’ve only given up one goal in four games or 12 kills. The Wild are 18-15-0-3 on the road. The Sharks are 6-0 SU against the Wild.

The Sharks are sitting pretty with one loss in 13 games after they recently beat L.A. 2-1 on the road. Evgeni Nabokov will likely start following a rare night off, as the workhorse had just started his 69th game. Backup Brian Boucher got the win over L.A. for a 2-0 winning record. The Sharks offense has scored an average 2.20 GAG in their last five games and their power play has recorded a goal in each of their last two games. On defense their penalty kill need some improvement and Nabokov has a 1.60 GAA in his last five starts. The Sharks have the league best 26-8-3 away record and they can match the franchise record for consecutive road wins - set Nov. 14-Dec. 31 - when it visits Phoenix on March 25.

Recent Trends

SJ are 12-1 in their last 13 overall.
SJ are 8-1 in their last 9 vs. Western Conference.
SJ are 19-7 in their last 26 games as a favorite.
Wild are 1-4 in their last 5 vs. a team with a winning record.
Wild are 1-5 in their last 6 when their opponent allows 2 goals or less in their previous game.

The Low Down: This game is going to be physical and have lots of offense. Sharks have superb goaltending while the Wild have average goaltending. It’s the Sharks time to feed. Get your NHL Bet in now at BetUS.com.

NHL Bet: Minnesota Wild at San Jose Sharks

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