Colorado Avalanche visit San Jose Sharks in NHL clash
The Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks will square off this weekend in a game between two Western Conference teams. The Sharks are the 7th best team in the league in terms of record this season with a record of 31-21-6 on the season. The Avalanche are the 2nd worst team in the conference this season.
San Jose is at 16-1 in NHL Odds to win the Stanley Cup this season while Colorado is way back at 100-1.
Interestingly enough, the Avalanche are not all that bad despite the fact that they are near the cellar of the conference. They are actually just one game under .500 at 25-26-6 on the season. While their record isn’t terrible, they have been outscored by their opponents by 24 goals this season.
The Sharks are a pretty solid team on all fronts, but they are not very dominant in many aspects. The key to limiting the productivity of the Sharks’ offense is limiting their power play opportunities. They are a very effective team on the power play, converting 21.9 percent of the time, the 4th best average in the league.
The Sharks need to pull out wins against weaker teams like Colorado because the Western Conference playoff picture is extremely crowded. The Avalanche may not be able to make a run for the playoffs with so many teams in contention, but they can definitely play the role of a spoiler this season.
The Avalanche are excellent offensively, but they are allowing 3.4 goals per game. This game could turn into a shootout if the Sharks allow the Avalanche to set the pace of this game.
