Vancouver Canucks vs. San Jose Sharks: Best Bets and Preview
By Tyson Cole
Coming off a dominant win off the backs of depth scoring, the Vancouver Canucks look to win their third game in the last six nights. Tonight’s game will mark the third time in this young season that the Canucks will face off against their division mate, San Jose Sharks. The Canucks have had the Sharks number this season, but who hasn’t.
Sorry, Edmonton Oilers fans. They’ve outscored the Sharks by a whopping 13-2 in their two meetings this season. Andrei Kuzmenko should have a chip on his shoulder tonight after last night’s healthy scratch. It will be interesting to see how coach Tocchet decides to shuffle up his lines with his sniper looking to slot back in.
Game Preview:
The Canucks’ success against the Sharks extends further back than just this season. Coach Tocchet’s team comes in tonight as the hotter team, winning two of their last three, while San Jose has lost three straight. Vancouver has taken eleven straight head-to-head matchups with the Sharks.
Although there isn’t any value in taking the Canucks on the moneyline at -300, I have a pivot option. Four straight, and eight of their eleven wins against the Sharks, have finished in regulation. Of Vancouver’s fourteen wins this season, thirteen have come in regulation.
Both teams are playing the latter half of a back-to-back. Dating back to last season, the Canucks won seven of their eleven second-half back-to-back games, winning six of those in regulation.
On the other hand, San Jose lost 10 of their 14 second-half back-to-back games, losing in regulation all ten times. So, if you think Vancouver wins tonight, it’s just as safe taking the regulation win at -140 as their -300 money line.
We tried this last time these two teams faced off, and although it did not work out in our favour, there’s still value here. Vancouver Canucks team total of 3.5 has hit the over in ten of their last eleven meetings with San Jose, the only miss being Monday night’s game.
The Quinn Hughes-lead team has scored four or more goals in eleven of their fourteen wins. San Jose allows the most goals this season, averaging 4.2 per game.
As I mentioned, both teams are on the latter half of back-to-backs. Last season, the Canucks scored over 3.5 goals in six of their thirteen games in their second-half back-to-back games. The Sharks allowed 4+ goals in ten of their thirteen second-half back-to-back games. David Quinn turns to Kaapo Kahkonen tonight, who the Canucks are quite familiar with this season.
The Finnish goaltender has allowed 4+ goals against in three of his last four games this season. Including the six goals he allowed to Vancouver back at the beginning of the month. Vancouver leads the league in goals for, averaging 4.1 per game.
Player Props:
Andrei Kuzmenko Point
Oh yes, another bet we had last time these two teams met that failed us, but things have changed for the Russian in only five days. Kuzmenko is coming off a healthy scratch. Surprisingly, this isn’t the first scratching for his young NHL career. Andrei was scratched in mid-November last season against the Boston Bruins.
How did Kuzmenko respond? He recorded ten points in his next six games. The sniper has an impressive history against the Sharks, finding the score sheet in five of his six career games, totalling nine points.
Kuzmenko should slide back into his regular first-line left-wing and top powerplay unit spot. His exposure to three of the league’s leaders in points should lead to plenty of opportunities tonight against one of the league’s worst defensive teams.
Best Bet Summary:
Vancouver Canucks Regulation Win (-140) for 1 unit.
Vancouver Canucks Team Total Over 3.5 (-140) for 1 unit.
Andrei Kuzmenko Point (-140) for 1 unit.
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Last Game Recap: 1-2 -1.37 units.
All-Time Record: 11-8 +1.4 units.