Sharks vs Blackhawks NHL Spread/Handicapping
Headline: Sharks Try To End Blackhawks Streak for Second Time This Week
The San Jose Sharks, fresh off their first win this month will try to prevent the Chicago Blackhawks from sitting alone in the record books for most games without a regulation loss to start a season – a mark that they currently share with the 2006-2007 Anaheim Ducks.
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San Jose Sharks (8-4-1-2) at Chicago Blackhawks (13-0-0-3)
When: 8:30 PM ET, Friday, February 22, 2013
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Broadcast: NHLN-US, CSN-CA, CSN-CH
Sharks vs. Blackhawks Betting Lines from betonline.com
San Jose Sharks +1½ -260 +120 Ov 5½ +127
Chicago Blackhawks -1½ +220 -132 Un 5½ -140
The Hawks have gone 16 games this season gaining at least a point and are coming off a nice win against Vancouver on Tuesday night. Chicago has beaten the Sharks twice already this season outscoring them 9-4 along the way.
The San Jose Sharks have to be feeling some relief – after all they snapped their seven game losing streak against a pretty good team St. Louis team Tuesday night. Truth be told – the Sharks are a whole lot better than their previous 0-4-3 mark indicated.
Despite the win however, the Sharks continue to struggle scoring – they have tallied three or less goals in their last 10 games overall and have totaled a whopping 14 goals overall during that span – they have scored two or less goals in their last five games overall.
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The Sharks have gone just 2-for-43 on the power play over that time. The duo of Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton have combined for just four points in the last nine games and Ryan Clowe has yet to score this season – Thornton scored for the first time in nine games against St. Louis and Marleau added an assist. Not at all what was expected of this team after a hot start!
Goaltending and defense continue to be the strength of the Sharks – Antti Niemi has another strong outing Tuesday and has now allowed just six goals in his last four starts. He has an outstanding 1.86 goals against average this season and a .933 save %. His offense continues to let him down but Niemi is definitely doing his job.
The Chicago Blackhawks are on some sort of roll! The last two teams that started the season this hot went on to win the Cup. Chicago is getting it done with goaltending, defense and with one of the most daunting offensive attacks in the NHL. The Blackhawks’ success is no fluke – they lead the Western Conference with 55 goals and are tied with San Jose for fewest allowed in the league. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Nothing had gone wrong for the Hawks until a costly win Tuesday night – Chicago may be forced to play without Marion Hossa and his eight goals and 14 points in 16 games – he scored twice Tuesday before getting injured by an accidental elbow by Jannik Hansen.
The loss of Hossa could be huge but the Hawks still possess one of the more talented four lines in the game – he skated on Thursday and has an outside shot of playing Friday. Patrick Kane is tied for third in the league in scoring with 22 points and has at least a point in 14 of Chicago’s 16 games this season but he has failed to score in his last four. Duncan Keith has five points in his last three games.
It looks like Ray Emery will start in net to the Hawks again – he is 6-0-0 in the season with a 2.28 GAA and .925 save %. He has won three consecutive games against San Jose and has a 1.55 goals against average over that span.
Betting Prediction
A few trends to consider:
• SJ are 1-9 in their last 10 vs. Central.
• SJ are 1-7 in their last 8 overall.
• SJ are 1-7 in their last 8 vs. Western Conference.
• Under is 7-1-1 in CHI last 9 home games.
• CHI are 7-1 in their last 8 vs. Pacific.
• Under is 9-2 in CHI last 11 Fri. games.
A pretty good rivalry already exists between these two game – in the last match, Joe Thornton and Jonathan Toews engaged in a pretty decent scrap. That said it has been all about the Hawks this year. The potential absence of Marion Hossa and Brent Seabrook could be a factor however as the Sharks arrive in Chicago with a bit more confidence than they had last week. I picked the Sharks to beat the Blues Tuesday night but I know not to go to the well too many times. The Blackhawks, despite going into a shootout against Vancouver last time out looked very much like the superior team – they should be able to soundly handle the Sharks just like they’ve done in their two meetings this year.
Pick: Chicago Blackhawks -132
