Re: NHL Betting Info. 2/28
Preview: San Jose at Vancouver
When: 7:00 PM ET, Sunday, February 28, 2016
Where: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia
The Vancouver Canucks host the San Jose Sharks on Sunday in the first contest of their five-game series as a scheduling quirk has them playing the entire set in 33 days, including three in the next seven. Vancouver trails third-place San Jose by 10 points in the Pacific Division, but the Canucks’ best playoff hope – however bleak – comes in the wild-card race, where it trails Colorado by eight points with four games in hand on the Avalanche.
“With San Jose, we just have to make sure we’re focused on one game,” Vancouver coach Willie Desjardins told reporters. “If we get (this) one we can worry about the next.” The Canucks, who have lost seven straight to the Sharks at home, could be sellers as Monday’s trade deadline approaches as defenseman Dan Hamhuis and forward Radim Vrbata appear to be hot commodities. San Jose went shopping Saturday as they acquired goaltender James Reimer and minor-league forward Jeremy Morin from Toronto for goalie Alex Stalock, forward Ben Smith and a conditional fourth-round selection in the 2018 draft. The Sharks, who are 1-2-1 in their last four games with the regulation losses to a pair of teams out of playoff position, are eight points behind first-place Los Angeles in the Pacific and four points back of red-hot Anaheim as those three fight it out for home ice in at least the first two rounds of the playoffs.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN California (San Jose), Sportsnet (Vancouver)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (32-22-6): Joe Pavelski (team-high 26 goals) and Joe Thornton (club-most 42 assists) share the team lead in points (56) and in plus-minus at plus-19. Brent Burns scored twice in his last four games and leads NHL defenseman with 20 goals, and has 51 points this season while pulling within one of 400 in his career. The acquisition of the veteran Reimer gives San Jose the opportunity to spell Martin Jones (29-17-4, .916 save percentage in 51 games), who appeared in a combined 34 contests over his first two seasons while backing up Jonathan Quick in Los Angeles.
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (24-24-12): Hamhuis is attractive to a Stanley Cup contender in need of a steady veteran defenseman, who can log plenty of minutes but becomes an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. Vrbata (12 goals), also a soon-to-be UFA who is an NHL-worst minus-32, missed Thursday’s 5-3 victory over Ottawa after leaving last Sunday’s game with a leg injury and isn’t expected to play against the Sharks despite returning to the ice Friday. Defenseman Matt Bartkowski and forward Emerson Etem scored two goals apiece Thursday, giving them five and three, respectively, on the season.
OVERTIME
1. The Sharks lost to Buffalo 3-1 on Friday in a game with no penalties – the first such contest in San Jose club history.
2. Entering Saturday, San Jose had the No. 3 power play in the NHL at 22.5 percent after going 3-for-18 in its last seven games.
3. The Canucks host the Sharks on Thursday — after each plays one home game — and the clubs meet again in San Jose on Saturday.
PREDICTION: Sharks 3, Canucks 2
Preview: San Jose at Vancouver
When: 7:00 PM ET, Sunday, February 28, 2016
Where: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia
The Vancouver Canucks host the San Jose Sharks on Sunday in the first contest of their five-game series as a scheduling quirk has them playing the entire set in 33 days, including three in the next seven. Vancouver trails third-place San Jose by 10 points in the Pacific Division, but the Canucks’ best playoff hope – however bleak – comes in the wild-card race, where it trails Colorado by eight points with four games in hand on the Avalanche.
“With San Jose, we just have to make sure we’re focused on one game,” Vancouver coach Willie Desjardins told reporters. “If we get (this) one we can worry about the next.” The Canucks, who have lost seven straight to the Sharks at home, could be sellers as Monday’s trade deadline approaches as defenseman Dan Hamhuis and forward Radim Vrbata appear to be hot commodities. San Jose went shopping Saturday as they acquired goaltender James Reimer and minor-league forward Jeremy Morin from Toronto for goalie Alex Stalock, forward Ben Smith and a conditional fourth-round selection in the 2018 draft. The Sharks, who are 1-2-1 in their last four games with the regulation losses to a pair of teams out of playoff position, are eight points behind first-place Los Angeles in the Pacific and four points back of red-hot Anaheim as those three fight it out for home ice in at least the first two rounds of the playoffs.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN California (San Jose), Sportsnet (Vancouver)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (32-22-6): Joe Pavelski (team-high 26 goals) and Joe Thornton (club-most 42 assists) share the team lead in points (56) and in plus-minus at plus-19. Brent Burns scored twice in his last four games and leads NHL defenseman with 20 goals, and has 51 points this season while pulling within one of 400 in his career. The acquisition of the veteran Reimer gives San Jose the opportunity to spell Martin Jones (29-17-4, .916 save percentage in 51 games), who appeared in a combined 34 contests over his first two seasons while backing up Jonathan Quick in Los Angeles.
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (24-24-12): Hamhuis is attractive to a Stanley Cup contender in need of a steady veteran defenseman, who can log plenty of minutes but becomes an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. Vrbata (12 goals), also a soon-to-be UFA who is an NHL-worst minus-32, missed Thursday’s 5-3 victory over Ottawa after leaving last Sunday’s game with a leg injury and isn’t expected to play against the Sharks despite returning to the ice Friday. Defenseman Matt Bartkowski and forward Emerson Etem scored two goals apiece Thursday, giving them five and three, respectively, on the season.
OVERTIME
1. The Sharks lost to Buffalo 3-1 on Friday in a game with no penalties – the first such contest in San Jose club history.
2. Entering Saturday, San Jose had the No. 3 power play in the NHL at 22.5 percent after going 3-for-18 in its last seven games.
3. The Canucks host the Sharks on Thursday — after each plays one home game — and the clubs meet again in San Jose on Saturday.
PREDICTION: Sharks 3, Canucks 2
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