Sharks at Wild Preview and Pick

Sharks at Wild Preview and Pick: Both of these teams are fighting for playoff contention in this one. The Wild are coming off of a couple of losses to the Blues but came back with a nice bounceback win over the Coyotes. The Wild currently sit in 3rd place in the west division with a record of 25-13 and are nine points ahead of the fourth place Blues.

The Wild need to find some consistency in their goalie play, with Kaapo Kahkonen giving up nine goals in a game then the next night Cam Talbot only giving up three. They have their cornerstone forward of the future to build around in Kaprill Kaprisov who leads the team in goals (16), assists (19), and points (35) all as a rookie.

The Sharks are on the outside looking in right now with a record of 18-20 to total 40 points on the season. The Sharks currently sit in 6th place in the western conference but are only four points behind the fourth place Blues who have 44 points.

The Sharks point leader Evander Kane has struggled the past few games only having two points in his last seven games, combining that with three straight losses to two non-playoff teams this late in the season is a recipe for not making the playoffs.

San Jose Sharks betting Preview:

The Sharks have had an up and down year to say the least but the past week or so it’s been more down than up. They have lost three of their last four games in critical playoff push time.

They are putting so much pressure on their goaltender Martin Jones who has started the last eight games in a row and looks slated to start this one too. Jones is posting a 15-13 record with a .90 save percentage with a 3.1 goals against average.

The Sharks have an overall record of 23-19 against the spread this season but have expelled on the road covering spreads with a record of 14-8. They have an overall record of 3-2 against the Wild this season they seem to be the only ones in that division to give them a real run for their money game in and game out.

Minnesota Wild betting preview:

The Wild currently have a nice grip on the third place spot in the western division being nine points ahead of the team behind them this late in the season. With a couple more wins from them and a couple losses for the Blues the Wild might be able to clinch a playoff spot soon.

Outside of Kaprisov the forwards have been lackluster this season but luckily for the Wild they have one of the best defensive cores in the NHL. With Matt Dumba, Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin all having at least 15 points this season to make up for the forwards.

The Wild are only 2-3 against the Sharks and are 22-19 against the spread this season. Very important to note, the Wild are the best team in the league on their home ice with a record of 15-4 and the Sharks are 10-10 against the spread this season. In both of their wins against the Sharks this season the Wild have covered a -1.5 spread just to give as much information as possible.

Minnesota vs San Jose odds and Lines:

(Sportsbook here) has opened the odds with the Minnesota Wild being favored by 1.5 goals with the over/under set at 6.5.

Free pick of the night:

My free pick of the night is Wild Moneyline at -195.