Sharks vs. Ducks Prediction
The San Jose Sharks have won three of four meetings with the Anaheim Ducks this season. Will San Jose manage to go on the road and secure an upset victory when it opens a Western Conference quarterfinals series in Anaheim tonight?
Game Snapshot
17 San Jose Sharks at 18 Anaheim Ducks
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Honda Center at 10:30PM ET
TV: USA
Public Betting Information
According to oddsmakers at YouWager, the Ducks are a -145 favorite to win on the moneyline. The Sharks are a +125 underdog, while the total is set at 5 goals. As of Thursday afternoon, 51 percent of public bets are being placed on host Anaheim. Check out our NHL Public Betting Page for up-to-date information.
Ducks enter postseason on hot streak
Anaheim comes into the playoffs riding a five-game winning streak, which helped position it for home-ice advantage in the first round. Four of the five wins came at home but three were against playoff teams in the Kings (2-1 in OT), Avalanche (4-3 in OT) and Wild (3-1). The Ducks also defeated the Stars 5-3 at home, while they proceeded to go on the road to win 3-0 at the Coyotes in their final regular season game. Anaheim is stingy defensively as it is third in the NHL in goals against per game (2.5). Goalie John Gibson has ben outstanding this season with a 2.43 GAA and a .926 save percentage. Up front, the attack features Rickard Rakell (34G, 35 A in 77 games) and Ryan Getzlaf (11G, 50A in 56 games). The Ducks aren’t one of the favorites in the Western Conference, but they certainly will be a tough out.
Burns one of NHL’s most versatile players
San Jose’s Brent Burns is a defenseman, but has shown outstanding ability to also play as a forward. Even on the back line, he is always a threat to score a goal and also dishes out assists at a high frequency. He enters the playoffs with 12 goals this season along with 55 assists over a full 82 games. He has not missed a game the last four seasons, a remarkable achievement considering he has the reputation of being a physical player who doesn’t avoid danger. His lack of front teeth partially proves that point. His goal-scoring is down from the last three season, but the assists are up so he is certainly making big contributions. Expect Burns to get after it and make a difference in Game 1.
NHL Betting Trends
San Jose
The Sharks are 1-5 in their last six games versus the Western Conference and 1-5 in their last six games versus a team with a winning record. The road team is 5-1 in the last six meetings.
Anaheim
The under is 5-1-3 in the last nine meetings in Anaheim. Anaheim is 4-0 in its last four conference quarterfinals games. The under is 42-19-9 in the last 70 meetings overall.
Prediction:
This game is a tough one to call because not a lot of goals are expected and the teams are pretty easily matched. The Ducks are in better form coming in, but that often doesn’t matter in the playoffs. With a clean slate and the road team having so much success lately in this series, I’m going to side with the Sharks stealing Game 1.
NHL DAILY PREDICTION: SAN JOSE SHARKS +125