In their first head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the San Jose Sharks and the Carolina Hurricanes take the ice at PNC Arena in a West-versus-East showdown. The matchup gets started at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, October 26, and you’ll be able to view the game live on Fox Sports Carolina.
San Jose Sharks vs. Carolina Hurricanes Odds
San Jose enters the contest as the slight favorite with a moneyline of -115. The line for Carolina sits at -105 and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at an even 6 goals (-105 for the over, -115 for the under).
Netting 0.3 units for moneyline bettors, Carolina is 5-4 straight up (SU) overall in the 2018-19 season. That winning percentage, ranked 3rd in the Metropolitan Division in this young season, is a welcome improvement over the 36-46 record from last year’s regular season campaign. Out of the team’s nine regular season matches, six of them have gone under the total, while three have gone over and none have pushed. The team is 2-2 SU at home this year.
The Hurricanes have successfully scored on 12.1 percent of their power play opportunities so far. That’s a noticeable drop-off from last season, when they were ranked 22nd in the league by scoring on 18.3 percent of their extra-man advantages. Their penalty kill has fallen off significantly year-over-year as they’ve gone from successfully defending 77.5 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 24th overall last season) to 70.0 percent this year.
As a team, the Hurricanes have been whistled for penalties 4.0 times per game this season. Last year, that number was at 2.7, the lowest mark in the league. After serving an average of 6.2 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team has had to stave off opponent power plays for 8.3 minutes per matchup this season.
With a .888 save percentage and 20.6 saves per game, Petr Mrazek (2-3-1) has been the best option in goal for Carolina this season. If Carolina decides to give him the night off, however, it could turn to Curtis McElhinney (3-1-1 record, .892 save percentage, 2.76 goals against average).
The Canes will continue relying on leadership via Sebastian Aho and Micheal Ferland. Aho (14 points) has put up four goals and 10 assists while Ferland has six goals and three assists to his name so far in the season’s early stages.
San Jose is 5-4 straight up (SU) and has lost 1.1 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. Through nine regular season outings, five of its games have gone under the total, while four have gone over and none have pushed. The Sharks are 3-3 SU as the visiting team this season.
The Sharks have scored on 20.6 percent of their power play chances this year after converting on 21.1 percent of their extra-man opportunities in 2017-18 (a percentage that was just better than the league average). The team has gone from successfully defending 84.2 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked second overall last season) to 84.2 percent in 2018-19.
San Jose’s skaters have been penalized 5.0 times per game this season, a number that’s climbed noticeably from the 3.4 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 8.3 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team has had to kill penalties for a noteworthy 12.3 minutes per outing this season.
Martin Jones (23.0 saves per game) has been the primary option in the net for San Jose. Jones has four wins and three losses to his credit, while registering a .899 save percentage and 2.60 goals against average this year.
Leading the offensive attack for the visiting Sharks will be Logan Couture (five goals, five assists) and Brent Burns (two goals, eight assists).
San Jose Sharks vs. Carolina Hurricanes Betting Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Hurricanes, O/U – Over
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Notes
Betting Trends
The total has gone under in four of Carolina’s last five outings.
San Jose skaters recorded 18.4 hits per game last season, while the Canes logged 19.5 hits per contest.
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