Posted on 12/11/2007 1:59:30 PM

Bet On NHL - Minnesota Wild vs. San Jose Sharks

By Robby Maddux

There's a great game for the NHL betting community to cash in on tonight, when the Minnesota Wild (+145) skates against the San Jose Sharks (-165) at HP Pavilion, and lurking below is notable information, key trends and winning selection.

The Sharks will be looking to rebound from their worst performance of the season. Saturday, with a shot to win their season-high fifth straight game, the Sharks had it handed to them 7-1 at home versus Buffalo.

- Sharks are 23-8-1 in their last 32 games following a home loss of 3 or more goals.

- Sharks are 4-1 in their last 5 after allowing 5 goals or more in their previous game.

- Sharks are 7-3 in their last 10 games playing on 2 days rest.

San Jose is an NHL betting-best 11-3-2 on the road, but when playing on home ice they are the leagues-worst 4-6-2.

However, the Sharks have played well lately against Minnesota, outscoring the Wild 8-2 during three straight wins in the series. Evgeni Nabokov made 26 saves in San Jose's 3-0 victory at Minnesota in the most recent meeting on March 6.

Nabokov is 7-8 against Minnesota in 17 career starts with a GAA (goals-average against) of 2.22. At home, he owns a 2.13 GAA on the year.

San Jose has allowed a league-best 61 goals, giving up 2.46 per game on defense. Offensively, the Sharks have room for improvement as they've scored just 70 times this year, which is NHL's fourth-worst. Overall, San Jose is 15-9-4 and has 34 points to be second in the Pacific and sixth in the conference.

Center Joe Thornton leads the team in scoring with 12 goals and 23 assists for 25 points. Against Minnesota, Thornton has found the net twice in his career and has collected seven assists.

- Sharks are 4-0 in their last 4 vs. Western Conference.

- Sharks are 4-0 in their last 4 vs. Northwest.

- Sharks are 4-0 in their last 4 Tuesday games.

- Sharks are 1-4 in their last 5 home games.

- Sharks are 1-6 in their last 7 home games vs. a team with a losing road record.

The Wild snapped a nine-game winless streak in Columbus with a 2-1 victory Saturday over the Blue Jackets in their most recent outing. Niklas Backstrom made 31 saves in the victory.

- Wild are 19-9 in their last 28 games following a win.

- Wild are 0-4 in their last 4 games playing on 2 days rest.

Backstrom is 0-1 against San Jose in just one career start with a GAA of 4.50. On the road, he's 4-3 with a 2.93 GAA on the season.

Minnesota, which has won five of seven despite scoring only 15 total goals in that span, is getting good play from Marian Gaborik. The right wing leads the team with 10 goals and 13 assists good for 23 points. He has three goals and three assists in his last seven games.

While Gaborik is producing, two of Minnesota's top players are struggling. Captain and right wing Mark Parrish has gone eight games without a goal and right wing Pierre-Marc Bouchard has no goals and six assists in his past 13 contests.

Collectively on offense, the Wild has scored 72 times this year, 2.47 per game. Defensively, Minnesota has allowed 72 goals with a team 2.47 GAA. They come into this game with a 16-11-2 record and 34 points with a road mark of 6-6-2, as they sit second in the Northwest and fifth in the conference.

The Wild, 4-1-0 in their last five visits to San Jose, are still without center Mikko Koivu, who has missed 10 consecutive games with a cracked left fibula.

- Wild are 5-1 in their last 6 vs. Western Conference.

- Wild are 5-2 in their last 7 vs. a team with a winning record.

- Wild are 3-7 in their last 10 road games.

NHL betting odds list San Jose the money-line favorites at -165 (-1½ +170) with a game total of 5 under -120.

- Sharks are 4-1 in their last 5 games as a home favorite of -151 to -200.

- Sharks are 1-4 in their last 5 games as a home favorite.

- Wild are 9-19 in their last 28 games as a road underdog of +110 to +150.

- Wild are 2-6 in their last 8 games as an underdog.

Analysis: Both teams are struggling to find any type of consistent scoring but they're getting decent goal tending with the defense keeping them in games. This will be a grind-it-out style of game with little lighting of the lamp. The under is 6-0-1 in the last seven meetings between the two and that trend will continue in this one.

NHL Free Picks: UNDER 5 -120

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