Avalanche vs Sharks NHL Line & Handicapping
Scuffling Western Powers Do Battle Monday Night – Sharks Host Avs
Two of the best teams in the West will be after their first two-game win streak of December Monday night when the Colorado Avalanche head to San Jose to take on the Sharks.
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Colorado (23-10-0-2) at San Jose (28-8-1-5)
When: 10:30 PM ET, Monday, December 23, 2013
Where: SAP Center at San Jose, San Jose, California
Broadcast: Altitude2 (Colorado), CSN California (San Jose)
Avs. vs. Sharks Betting Lines
Colorado Avalanche +1½ -190 +167 Ov 5 -131
San Jose Sharks -1½ +165 -184 Un 5 +119
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Two of the early season powers in the NHL, the Avs have been OK of late but have yet to record two straight wins in December going 3-1-2 while the Sharks have gone just 3-5-1 in their last nine and also haven’t won two straight in a month.
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San Jose has owned Colorado winning 18 of 22 at home in the series and winning 10 straight regular season games.
The Avalanche have earned a point in five of their last six games – one coming in a shootout loss to LA on Saturday. The team has struggled on the road of late going 1-2-1 in their last four games away from Pepsi Center. A win in San Jose on Monday will be a tough task – the Avs are just 4-18 in their last 22 trips to the SAP Center.
Offensively the Avalanche remain one of the better teams in the NHL.
They average 2.86 goals per game and boast a wealth of talent up and down the lineup. Matt Duchene, after recording just one goal and one assist in a 10-game span, has collected 12 points over his last six games, registering multi-point performances in five of those games – including each of the last four. Matt Duchene has two goals and seven assists in his past four games and 12 points in his past six and Erik Johnson has scored a goal in three of his last four games.
Ryan O`Reilly has three points in two games and Tyson Barrie has four points in his last four games. Offense likely won`t be a problem Monday night and as it turns out, neither will be defense.
Seymon Varlamov was afforded a day off Saturday and should get the start Monday. Varlamov has not lost in regulation since Dec. 10 (3-0-2). He is 2-0-2 with a 1.68 GAA and .945 save percentage in his last four games and continues to supply his team with quality starts.
The San Jose Sharks have not looked like the team they were early in the season but they are at home where they have an eight game point streak on the line (7-0-1). The Sharks own the league`s second best home record – 12-1-3 so far this year.
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Offensively the Sharks just keep clicking along at a nice 3.11 goals for per game. Joe Thornton has five assists in his past five games for the Sharks and Joe Pavelski has four goals in his past five games. Patrick Marleau has five points in four games and Martin Havlat has three points in three games. There are issues for the Sharks offensively however – they will be forced to play without super-rookie Tomas Hertl because of injury and Logan Couture is in the midst of a five-game point drought.
The Sharks will likely turn back to Antti Niemi after backup Alex Stalock got the win in San Jose`s last game. Niemi has not been terrific as of late however – he is 1-2-0 with a 3.03 GAA and .883 save percentage in his last three games played.
Dave’s FREE NHL Betting Prediction
A few trends to consider:
• COL are 3-8 in their last 11 Mon. games.
• SJ are 39-13 in their last 52 home games.
• SJ are 9-4 in their last 13 vs. Western Conference.
• SJ are 9-20 in their last 29 vs. Central.
• COL are 4-18 in the last 22 meetings in San Jose.
• Home team is 18-5 in the last 23 meetings.
Two things jump out at me ahead of this game – Colorado’s recent struggles on the road and the Avs’ inability to get anything done against San Jose. The Sharks, simply put, are Colorado’s kryptonite. Betting against San Jose at home is always a risky proposition and against a team that they have absolutely owned, it is even more precarious. So don’t!
Pick: San Jose Sharks -184
