All Betting Previews
San Jose Vs. Chicago
Sharks vs. Blackhawks
Click here for NHL Lines.
The San Jose Sharks keep rolling, largely on the backs on their elite defensive skills. The Chicago Blackhawks, who had a stellar streak through November and December, have fallen back to the pack a bit, mainly because the offense they relied so heavily on has faltered. The two teams meet up in San Jose for their third meeting of the season.
The Sharks (36-6-5) are the leagues best team, one-point ahead of Boston and are winning lately because of a great defense and an intimidating one-two punch in goal. Evgeni Nabokov and Brian Boucher have combined for a 2.25 goals-against average and six shutouts.
In winning seven of their last eight games, the netminders have let only 13 total goals in during that span. Nabokov is in the midst of the longest shutout streak of his career. He has stopped all 55 shots fired his way in both games following the All-Star game. Nabokov completed his second straight shutout with a 2-0 victory over Phoenix on Thursday night for his 44th career shutout. That came just two nights after his 3-0 road shutout at Colorado.
The last time anyone got a goal past him was on January 20th. Taylor Pyatt of Vancouver scored at 12:38 of the first period. Since then he has stone-walled all shooters in a streak spanning 170 minutes, 10 seconds.
A third straight shutout would be a Sharks’ franchise record and they have a distinct shot to do that against the struggling Blackhawks (26-13-8)
In addition to having problems finding the net recently, Chicago has had fits against San Jose over the years, losing 13 straight dating back to a 6-3 Blackhawks win on October 7, 2005.
Chicago is in the midst of the longest road trip of their season, spanning eight days. The road trip is the second-longest in franchise history. They have split their first two games on the trip with an opening victory over Anaheim on Wednesday, followed by a loss to Los Angeles, 5-2, on Thursday. It was Chicago’s third loss in four games.
In addition to struggling offensively, the Blackhawks have been unable to stop opponents’ power plays. They are 9-for-22 killing penalties over the past six games and could be in for a world of hurt Saturday if this continues. San Jose has scored on 23.5 percent of their power plays, including a 13-for-43 clip in the last nine games.
San Jose has still only dropped one game in regulation at HP Pavilion, a 5-2 loss to Calgary back on January 6th. They are 23-1-2 at home, the best in the league.
Click here for Sports Betting at WagerWeb.com
No related posts.
