NHL Odds and Prediction: Sharks vs. Golden Knights (April 24)
Stephen R. Sylvanie, USA Today Sports. Pictured: William Karlsson
- The Sharks are travelling to Las Vegas to take on the Golden Knights for the third time this season.
- Expect a low-scoring game as the under hit in each of the first two games.
- Tony Sartori breaks down his best bet for the game below.
Sharks vs. Golden Knights Odds
| Sharks Odds | +260 |
| Golden Knights Odds | -350 |
| Over/Under | 6.5 (+100/-120) |
| Time | 10 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN+ |
| Odds via BetMGM. Get up-to-the-minute NHL Odds here. | |
We have a Pacific Division tilt as the seventh-place San Jose Sharks travel to Las Vegas to take on the fourth-place Golden Knights. This is the third meeting between these two teams this season and the total has gone under in each of the first two matchups.
Will we see another low-scoring affair between these two teams?
Sharks: Is Another Strong Performance Coming From Reimer?
The Sharks enter this contest on the second half of a back-to-back as they took on the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night. We could see some very tired legs from San Jose as this will be their third game in the past four nights.
Prior to Saturday, there have been six or fewer goals scored in seven of San Jose's past nine games. These low-scoring games can be attributed to the Sharks' poor offense and solid goaltending.
San Jose has really struggled to find the back of the net recently and is averaging just two goals scored per game over those nine contests. This scoring drought should not be too much of a surprise as the Sharks rank 28th in the league in five-on-five expected goals for per 60 minutes (xGF).
Since they are on the second half of a back-to-back, we can expect to see James Reimer in net for the Sharks. Reimer has been good all year and boasts a 0.913 save percentage this season.
Against Vegas this season, Reimer has stopped 41 of 45 shots for a solid 0.911 save percentage. I expect Reimer to keep it going against a Vegas team that has struggled to score consistently.
Vegas Golden Knights: Expect Thompson to Start
The Golden Knights are an extremely up-and-down team when it comes to the total. However, I like the under in this matchup. While no one seems to know exactly what is happening with Robin Lehner, we should still expect to see Logan Thompson between the pipes in this game.
Thompson has been excellent when filling in for Lehner this season and boasts a 0.920 save percentage. His form has been especially good recently as he has allowed two or fewer goals in five of his past seven appearances, posting an exceptional 0.932 save percentage over that span.
When defending home ice, Thompson's save percentage jumps up to 0.925. In his one start against San Jose, Thompson stopped 35 of 36 shots for a stellar 0.972 save percentage.
As I hinted at in the previous section, Vegas may struggle to give Thompson much goal support in this matchup. Over their past eight contests, the Golden Knights are averaging just 3.25 goals scored per game.
Sharks vs. Knights Pick
I think we are getting tremendous value in the under in this game as the Golden Knights are starting a 'backup' goaltender, though Thompson has honestly been better than Lehner for the entire second half of the season. Vegas' offense is incredibly inconsistent and I expect Reimer to keep them to a maximum of four goals.
I would not take this under if the total drops to six before puck drop.
Pick: Sharks/Golden Knights u6.5 (-120) | Play up to (-130)
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