Liontips
San Jose vs. Colorado: NHL Match Prediction
In the final game of the game day on December 20, San Jose will play against Colorado in California. In October, the Avalanche confidently beat the Sharks, but then Ryan Warfovsky team was in terrible shape. Now the Sharks are acting much more confidently and it is unlikely that the match will end with a similar result. At the same time, Mario Ferraro team has not been able to beat the Avalanche since 2021. Will they be able to break this streak now? This is in the forecast for the confrontation
Command Analysis
San Jose Sharks
USACurrent form
San Jose is in 13th place in the Western Conference standings and has 27 points after 34 games. The team from California was close to the playoff zone, but due to weak results, it again returned to the outsiders. The Sharks started December well, but now the hosts have only one win in their previous five starts. Ryan Warfovsky team finished the away series with a victory in Missouri over the local St. Louis (4:3), and after returning home they lost with the same score to Winnipeg (3:4) and Utah (3:4). In the game against the Canadians, the Sharks took the lead in the score at the start of the third period, but were unable to maintain the desired result and conceded twice in the final ten minutes.
The Californians remain the most conceding team in the conference. On average, the red light behind the San Jose goal comes on 3.59 times per game, while at home this figure is slightly better - 3.40. Alexander Georgiev played two games after moving from Colorado, but so far he has not been very good. The Russian has reflected 86.79% of shots, but against the background of Vitek Vanecek injury, the "sharks" simply have no alternative.
Mikael Granlund remains a bright spot in the Sharks' offense. The forward from Finland has 32 points (11+21) in the goal+pass system, and so far only William Eklund can get close to the leader. The latter participated in 25 successful attacks for the hosts (5+20).
Disqualifications and injuries
Logan Couture, Klim Kostin and Marc-Edouard Vlasic remain on the injured list, while Vitek Vanecek condition is questionable.
Interesting trends for betting
- San Jose averages 24 hits per game
The Sharks play tough against their opponents and make a lot of power plays.
- The Sharks have managed to win six games on their home ice
San Jose has earned most of its points on its home court this season.
Colorado Avalanche
USACurrent form
Colorado dropped to ninth place in the West and scored 36 points in 33 games. The Avalanche can return to the playoff zone and are separated by only two points from the fifth place in the conference. The Avalanche lack stability and they cannot produce a winning streak, although the club from Denver has four victories in six previous starts. The visitors had a strong previous trip, which ended with a rout of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania (6:2). At home, Gabi Landeskog team failed to cope with Utah (1:4), but a day later they were stronger than Nashville (5:2). The current away tour for the team under the command of Jared Bednar began with a failure in Vancouver (1:3). The Coloradoans scored their only goal only in the last minute of the match.
Denver hasn't been a strong defense team, allowing 3.45 goals per game on average. It not like Colorado has been particularly bad defensively lately, having allowed only 11 goals in its previous five starts. Mackenzie Blackwood has played two games for his new team, stopping 93.65% of shots. He'll likely be the No. 1 guy in the upcoming games.
The Avalanche attack leaders continue to tear up the league top scoring list. Nathan MacKinnon leads the NHL with 50 points (13+37), participating in almost every other goal for the visitors. Mikko Rantanen is not far behind, having 47 successful actions (18+29) during the season.
Disqualifications and injuries
Jonathan Drouin, Oliver Killington, Gabriel Landeskog, Josh Manson, Tucker Pullman and Miles Wood are in the visiting infirmary.
Interesting trends for betting
- Colorado gets 6.79 penalty minutes per game.
The Denver club demonstrates good discipline and rarely gets sent off more than three times per match.
- The Avalanche are averaging just 29 shots per game.
The visitors don't bother the opposing goalkeepers very often.
Trends
Bet 2nd period: total over 1.5 goals
Five of the Sharks' previous six games have seen at least two goals in the second period.
1.47Bet 3rd period: San Jose will score
The Sharks have scored in the third period for three games in a row.
1.60Tip and bets
Colorado is very good in terms of creation, but the visitors lack reliability in defense. Mackenzie Blackwood will probably be the new number one goalie for the Avalanche, but the Sharks know the weak points of this goalie well, because he recently played for San Jose. In October, Jared Bednar charges easily beat the Californians on the ice of the SAP Center arena, but then Mario Ferraro team was on a losing streak. Now the Sharks look much more dangerous. We do not think that they will lose by a landslide this time either.
We bet on San Jose to win with an Asian handicap (+1.5) for 1.85
Bet on individual total
San Jose often scores a lot, and in late fall and early winter the hosts found good form in attack. In their five previous starts, the Sharks have only made 13 accurate shots, but they have had to play against very strong teams in terms of defense. Colorado allows 3.45 goals per game and rarely demonstrates good defense. We believe that the hosts will be able to break through the Avalanche defense.
We take the individual total of "San Jose" over 2.5 goals for 2.02
Total Bet
San Jose rarely plays boring games and is still the most conceding team in the conference. Colorado is one of the most productive teams in the league and often scores and concedes a lot. The last matches between the opponents were not always bright, but now we expect at least six accurate shots from the teams.
We bet on total over 5.5 goals with odds of 1.57
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