NHL Betting – Sharks Take a Bite out of Avs

San Jose Sharks @ Colorado Avalanche – Sunday March 10, 2013 8:00 PM EST

The best online sports betting experts don’t see anything special about this year’s version of the San Jose Sharks. Aside from the fast start by goal scorer Patrick Marleau, the Sharks has not offered much to write about. This is an average team that is playing a bit above .500 hockey. But in a league that is scrambling to try and figure out how to play this shortened season, playing just a bit above .500 hockey is not necessarily a bad thing. The Sharks has slowed down with its goal scoring, but it is still getting top notch goaltending that has helped to keep it in the playoff race.

For a team that is only two points out of the Western Conference basement, the Colorado Avalanche has a habit of putting a scare into some pretty good hockey teams. The online casino players watched as the Chicago Blackhawks had to give everything it had just to beat the Avs in the dying seconds of Chicago’s 23rd game. The problem for Colorado is that it has been getting involved in close games, but not winning them. If the Avs could start pulling out some of these close games, the team could be chasing a playoff spot by now.

San Jose Sharks

To say that the San Jose scoring machine has slowed would be an understatement. The sports betting experts have noted that, in 22 games played, the Sharks as a team has only scored 51 goals. The only team in the Western Conference with less goals is the Nashville Predators with 47 scored in 23 games. As a matter of fact, the Sharks and Predators sit in the two bottom spots in overall league scoring. Those are just not the kind of stats a team looking to make a playoff jump wants to see.

Colorado Avalanche

The best sports betting sites note that the Avalanche cannot score goals either, but Colorado does not have the defense of goaltending it needs to back up that lack of production. The Avalanche play hard in every game it plays, but it just cannot skate with most teams in the league. Colorado is also not getting the kind of goaltending it was hoping for out of Semyon Varlomov. Every once in a while, the Avs surprise an opponent with a supreme effort, but it does not happen enough to make Colorado playoff contenders.

The sports Betting Bottom Line

This will be a hard-fought game that could go either way. If you want to see who will win this game, then you will have to watch it to the very end. The difference in this game will be the goaltending and defensive play of the San Jose Sharks. The experts from the best sports betting sites think The Sharks may not be able to score many goals, but it will be able to put a few past the Avs.

NHL Betting Pick: San Jose Sharks