The San Jose Sharks (17-21-3) and Pittsburgh Penguins (24-11-4) open their 2020 calendar year with a 7 p.m. ET tilt at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. We analyze the Sharks-Penguins odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips around this matchup.
Sharks at Penguins: Projected starting goalies
Aaron Dell vs. Matt Murray
Dell owns a 3.15 goals against average, .900 save percentage through 12 starts and three relief appearances. Like the team in front of him, the fourth-year NHLer has struggled with consistency. Dell is, however, coming off a December that saw improvement in his save percentage (.911 in December vs. .890 prior). He’s been solid over his last three road games, but the most recent of those was Dec. 7.
Murray has logged a 2.96 GAA and .894 SV%. His save mark is 40-plus points lower than that of Penguins backup Tristan Jarry. Murray only appeared in three December games, and he was woeful over that stretch and the few games preceding it. The 25-year-old owns a .853 SV% over his last seven games.
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Sharks at Penguins: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated Thursday at 12:50 p.m. ET.
Prediction
Pittsburgh 3, San Jose 2
Moneyline (ML)
This post-holiday JV matchup in goal takes too much of an edge off of what would likely be a play on San Jose (+155) with a big price. As listed, this is a decent Penguins (-189) club which has won seven of its last eight games overall and four in a row on home ice. The Pens do a credible job in creating quality scoring chances, and they don’t rely on power-play opportunities to score (Pittsburgh ranks seventh in goal scoring and merely 14th on the PP). PASS.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
The Sharks are on their second of a five-game road trip, and they played two nights ago (Dec. 31 — losing, 2-0, to the bottom-feeder Detroit Red Wings). San Jose has lost five in a row on the road. The Sharks rank 26th in scoring and 30th in allowing goals; they are 1-for-their-last-23 on the PP.
There are some analytics (recent Corsi figures, goalie trends, expected goals for and against) that would make the Sharks a play in some situations. But, that card will sit in the back pocket for now.
PASS on San Jose (+1.5, -167).
Over/Under (O/U)
There is a bit of value with some defensive pros for the Sharks and offensive cons for the Penguins. Take the UNDER 6.5 (-149).
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