Wings vs. Sharks NHL Line & Handicapping
Struggling Upper Echelon Teams Clash – Wings Visit Sharks Thursday
The San Jose Sharks return home after a brief three game road trip to take on the Detroit Red Wings, a team sliding down the Eastern Conference standings on the heels of an unflattering 4-5-1 stretch. The Sharks will certainly welcome some home cooking – they have lost eight of 11 away from SAP Center but have gone 15-1-3 on home ice this year. Detroit has thrived away from Joe Louis Arena this year – they are an Eastern Conference best 13-4-3 on the road. The Wings have gained at least a point in 10 of their last 11 road games – but will be hard pressed in the Shark Tank.
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Detroit (19-14-3-7) at San Jose (27-11-1-5)
When: 10:30 PM ET, Thursday, January 9, 2014
Where: SAP Center at San Jose, San Jose, California
Broadcast: FS-D, CSN-CA
Wings vs. Sharks Betting Lines
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The Detroit Red Wings continue to be middle-of-the-pack in terms of goals scored in the NHL (2.6 per game) but they could be in trouble if goal scoring leader Pavel Datsyuk misses his second straight game with injury. There is no word as to his availability at this time.
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Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg has three goals and three assists during a four-game point streak, Daniel Alfredsson has six points in his last six games, Justin Abdelkader has three points in three games and Brendan Smith has two points in two games. The Wings are coming off a five goal performance against Dallas and thing seem to be looking up.
The Wings will likely have Jimmy Howard back between the pipes. He is finally looking to be gaining some swagger. Howard is 1-0-1 with a 1.44 GAA and .958 save percentage in his last two games.
The San Jose Sharks just may be ripe for the picking – Logan Couture (hand surgery), Tomas Hertl (right-knee surgery), Martin Havlat (lower body) and Tommy Wingels (upper body) are all on injured reserve – some serious firepower out of their lineup.
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The Sharks have gone 6-4-0 in their last 10 games – nothing to write home about but they are back home where they have been almost untouchable the last few years.
The team’s offense is still top notch although they will be missing some pieces Thursday – they average 3.11 goals per game. Joe Pavelski is a player capable of stepping up – he has eight points in his last seven games – three goals and an assist in his past four and Patrick Marleau has four points in three.
Antti Niemi probably gets the start Thursday – he is 0-1-0 with a 4.29 GAA and .857 save percentage in his last two starts.
Dave’s FREE NHL Betting Prediction
A few trends to consider:
• DET are 2-6 in their last 8 vs. Western Conference.
• Over is 10-4 in DET last 14 games following a win.
• Over is 7-3-1 in DET last 11 Thu. games.
• SJ are 42-13 in their last 55 home games.
• Over is 6-2 in SJ last 8 vs. Eastern Conference.
• SJ are 35-16-2 in their last 53 vs. Atlantic.
• Under is 6-2-1 in the last 9 meetings in San Jose.
I usually caution against going against the Sharks at home but in this case, I’m ignoring my own advice. There are some key cogs out of the Sharks lineup, Antti Niemi has not looked good lately and the Wings are a terrific road team. All the stars seem to be aligning to the visiting team.
Pick: Detroit Red Wings
