Expect Plenty of Scoring as Golden Knights Host Sharks

The Vegas Golden Knights take on the San Jose Sharks for the seventh time this season on Wednesday night in the second half of a two-game series. It has been a one-sided season series as the Knights have won all six meetings by a combined score of 21-12. Vegas won 3-2 in a shootout on Monday night.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The game opened with the Golden Knights as favorites at -240 and the line has moved into the -240 to -260 range depending on where you look. The total opened at 5.5 and has moved to 6 at most sportsbooks with the UNDER favored in the -115 to -120 range.

San Jose News & Notes

The Sharks have been bottom-dwellers for the entire season as the team goes through a transition. The roster is not necessarily lacking in talent, but the problem is most of the top players are aging veterans with bloated contracts who have had down seasons.

Evander Kane leads the team in scoring with 17 goals and 36 points in 45 games, but Brent Burns, Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl, Timo Meier and Erik Karlsson have all had down seasons in the scoring department.

The underlying numbers are not as bad as you might think, especially offensively. Though the Sharks are 20th in goals at even strength, they are fourth in expected goals, suggesting some bad puck luck. The team is also fifth in high-danger chances at even strength.

However, the Sharks have been quite poor defensively. Only four teams have allowed more high-danger chances and only seven have a worse expected goals against rating. Only three teams have allowed more goals at even strength this season.

Vegas News & Notes

The Golden Knights are first in the West Division and have been a top team in the league all season. Mark Stone leads the way with 52 points in 44 games and Max Pacioretty tops the team with 22 goals.

While the team is littered with top talents, the underlying numbers are what is impressive about this squad. They rank second in the NHL in goals for percentage at even strength, fifth in expected goals for percentage, second in overall scoring chances and second in high-danger chances. The numbers show the team is truly one of the best in the league at both ends of the ice.

A big part of the defensive side has been the play of the team’s goaltenders. Marc-Andre Fleury is 20-10-0 with a fantastic .925 save percentage that ranks him tied for third among goalies who have played 25 games. Backup Robin Lehner has not been too shabby either as he is 11-1-2 with a .919 save percentage.

Betting Pick: OVER 5.5

The underlying stats show that the Sharks should have scored more goals this season than they have. And their defensive and goaltending numbers are so bad that we aren’t worried about Vegas’s chances of scoring a few goals. The OVER is a better bet than the Golden Knights straight up.