Payback Time
The San Jose Sharks lone blemish at home came against the Nashville Predators.
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The NHL’s top team looks to avenge that loss when they conclude their brief two-game road swing against the surging Nashville Predators on Monday night.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made San Jose -145 money line favorites (NHL Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 5.5 goals (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 54% of bets for this game have been placed on San Jose -145 (View NHL Bet Percentages).
San Jose (15-3-1) has suffered few setbacks this season, but its most recent came 4-3 in overtime to Nashville on Tuesday, snapping its nine-game winning streak at home where the Sharks are 10-0-1.
The loss to the Predators (9-7-1) also ended San Jose’s four-game winning streak against them, but the Sharks have won two in a row at Nashville.
San Jose has regrouped following its most recent loss. After going 4-for-9 on the power play in a 6-1 victory over Calgary on Thursday, San Jose went 4-for-6 with the man advantage in a 6-5 win at Chicago on Sunday. The Sharks are converting on 40.7 percent of their power-play chances in the last four contests.
"The power play has been pretty good the last couple of nights,” said San Jose’s Brian Boucher, who made 28 saves against Chicago as he continues to fill in for the injured Evgeni Nabokov, who has missed five games with a lower-body injury. "We have the guns, there’s no question. If we keep doing what we’re doing – getting point shots and spreading things out – it’s hard to defend.
On Sunday, Dan Boyle had two goals, Milan Michalek scored his third in two games, while Devin Setoguchi and Joe Thornton each added a goal and assist as San Jose earned its NHL-leading 31st point.
Setoguchi, who has a team-leading 10 goals, has three and three assists in his last three contests, including two goals and an assist against the Predators.
Boyle, one of the league’s top scoring defensemen, has four of his six goals in his last four contests, including one versus Nashville.
Due to the back-to-back scenario, it’s uncertain if Boucher will be in goal if Nabokov, who is 10-2-1 with a 2.71 goals-against average, is unable to play. Boucher is currently being backed up by Thomas Greiss, who has yet to play this season.
Nashville’s victory over San Jose last week was the start of a three-game winning streak for the Predators, who won 3-1 at Los Angeles on Saturday to salvage a 3-3-0 road trip.
"We talked about getting back to the basics and getting back to the way we play. And that’s just work ethic,” said Nashville’s Jason Arnott, who tied defenseman Shea Weber for the team lead with his eighth goal Saturday. "We were chipping away, we found a way to win. That’s what we got to do every single night so we can come away with points.”
Arnott has two goals with two assists in his last three contests and a goal in each of his last two games versus San Jose.
J.P. Dumont also added his second goal in as many games Saturday, giving him four points in his last three games.
Dan Ellis made 33 saves against the Kings for his third straight victory, improving to 7-7-1 with a 3.02 GAA on the season. Nashville’s opponents have totaled 124 shots in the last three games, and Ellis has stopped all but eight of them. He made a stunning 54 saves against San Jose last week.
"I was trying to find the puck a lot," Ellis said of facing the Sharks. "They put persistent pressure on you, and you want to be on your toes.”
Ellis is 1-1-0 with a 2.49 GAA versus the Sharks.
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