The Vancouver Canucks (28-18-4) visit the San Jose Sharks (22-25-4) Wednesday at SAP Center at San Jose for a 10:30 p.m. ET puck drop. We analyze the Canucks-Sharks sports betting odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips and picks around this matchup.
Canucks at Sharks: Projected starting goalies
Jacob Markstrom vs. Martin Jones
Markstrom won three of his last four games before the all-star break. He’s 18-13-3 on the season with a .916 save percentage and 2.71 goals against average.
Jones has a 13-16-2 record on the season with a .891 SV% and 3.22 GAA. He has been slightly better at home this year with a 10-7-0 record, .895 SV% and 2.98 GAA.
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Canucks at Sharks: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 8:15 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Canucks 5, Sharks 4
Moneyline (ML)
The CANUCKS (-115) are road favorites but at higher odds than they should have. The leaders of the Pacific Division are 7-3-0 across their last 10 games and on a three-game winning streak. They’re just 11-13-1 on the road this season, but they lead the season series 2-1, including a 5-2 win in San Jose Nov. 2.
The Sharks (-106) are one of the season’s biggest disappointments. They’ve been slightly improved of late at 5-4-1 across their last 10 games and are a respectable 14-11-1 at home on the season, but they’re not worth backing at anything less than plus-money.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Canucks to win in regulation, overtime or a shootout returns a profit of $8.70.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
I’m going to PASS on the puck line. I’d back the Canucks (-1.5, +225) if this game were in Vancouver, but their lackluster road record coupled with the Sharks being better on home ice puts too much risk on the 2-goal margin of victory. There’s also too much juice coming out of the Sharks’ (+1.5, -286) side of the equation.
Over/Under (O/U)
Take the OVER 5.5 (-133). The Canucks are 4-6 against the Over/Under across their last 10 games, while the Sharks are 3-7 over the same stretch. The first two head-to-head meetings of the season topped this projection before they played to a goal total of 5 their last time out (Jan. 18 in Vancouver). Expect a better offensive performance from the Sharks on home ice.
Esten’s NHL betting record: 184-172
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