by Chuck Sommers
Tuesday, Feb 28, 2023
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
Venue: SAP Center, San Jose, CA
Where to watch: NBCSCA, TSN2, RDS
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Sharks -165, Canadiens +140
FanDuel: Sharks -164, Canadiens +136
BetMGM: Sharks -160, Canadiens +135
Caesars: Sharks -161, Canadiens +135
Season record
Canadiens: 25-30-4
Sharks: 18-30-12
The All-Star break is over, the second half of the NHL season can officially begin, and we're bound for what should be a very exciting second half of the hockey season. Basketball and hockey are about to rule the roost in the sports betting world once the Super Bowl is done with, and we should all be very excited for what's to come. When the trade deadline hits and players switch teams, you know things are about to get hectic over these final 30 games or so. One way you can stay tuned with the action is following what our champion handicappers are doing in the world of the NHL. Look at ASA, Inc., reeling in a $6,750 profit off a 17-9-0 run. Al McMordie is also doing well on the ice with a 13-5-0 run and a net profit of $6,050. Scott Rickenbach has also been hanging strong with a lot of betting action, in what's been an unusual year, with a 24-18-0 run and reeling in $5,950. You know this action is going to be great now that games are back and a busy second half if on the horizon. All you need to do is head to our BEST BETS page at bigal.com to find out all of what we're trying to tell you. Make sure you're locked in at bigal.com and go to our Best Bets page to find out what our champion handicappers have to say in the world of the NHL!
Canadiens - Sharks preview, prediction and analysis
The Montreal Canadiens will be playing the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, February 28 in San Jose, California.
The Montreal Canadiens lost against the Ottawa Senators last Saturday, February 25 at Bell Centre in Montreal with a score of 5-2. The Montreal Canadiens currently rank 8th in the Atlantic Division.
Mike Matheson and Nick Suzuki scored, and Sam Montembeault made 17 saves for Montreal (25-30-4), which had won five of seven.
"We gave up 2-on-1s that really hurt us tonight," Canadiens defenseman David Savard said. "I think overall we were playing good, and the first two periods were a textbook of how we wanted to play. Obviously, there were a couple of mistakes, they scored, but I think we were creating a lot. We weren't giving much, and in the third a couple of mistakes and they got the lead, and after that they were playing well with the lead."
Losing all four games to the Senators this season did not sit well with Savard and his teammates.
"Obviously, that's frustrating," Montreal forward Michael Pezzetta said. "I mean, it's a team that I think we have a lot of bad blood between each other and, yeah, obviously not happy right now, and not a good feeling."
Derick Brassard put the Senators ahead 1-0 at 15:12 of the first period. He tipped Holden's shot from the point inside the left post after Mark Kastelic won an offensive zone face-off.
Matheson tied it 1-1 at 4:29 of the second period when he skated around Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot and flipped his own rebound over Sogaard. Suzuki put the Canadiens ahead 2-1 at 8:46, deking Sogaard on a breakaway for his 20th goal of the season.
Shane Pinto tied it 2-2 at 13:51 when he redirected Alex DeBrincat's pass in the slot.
Ottawa proceeded to score three more goals, resulting in a final score of 5-2.
The Montreal Canadiens have won five of their last 10 games.
The San Jose Sharks lost against the Chicago Blackhawks last Saturday, February 25 at SAP Center in San Jose, California with a score of 4-3 resulting from a shootout. The San Jose Sharks currently rank 7th in the Pacific Division.
Erik Karlsson scored, Nico Sturm had two assists, and Kaapo Kahkonen made 32 saves for the Sharks (18-30-12), who are 1-2-1 during a season-long seven-game homestand.
"I thought we played well," San Jose coach David Quinn said. "Good pace, good tempo. The penalty situation wasn't in our favor (four power plays for Chicago, one for San Jose), which was frustrating."
The Sharks retired the No. 12 of former forward Patrick Marleau in a pregame ceremony, the first retired number in their history. Marleau, who ranks first in NHL history in games played (1,779), played 21 seasons for San Jose and is its all-time leader in a number of categories, including games played (1,607), goals (522) and points (1,111).
"It's a night I'll never forget," Quinn said. "Even if you don't know him, there were moments we all got a little emotional for that man. It was a special night."
David Gust gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead at 2:14 of the first period. Nick Bonino tied it 1-1 at 4:17, scoring on the rebound of a shot by Jacob MacDonald.
Brett Seney responded for the Blackhawks to make it 2-1 at 5:12. Evgeny Svechnikov tied it 2-2 at 10:52 after receiving a centering pass from Sturm from behind the net.
"Good to fight back at the end and get a goal late," Sharks captain Logan Couture said. "But when you don't win it [stinks]. We would have liked to get that win."
Max Domi gave the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead 16 seconds into the third period when he skated down the left wing and scored from the face-off circle on a partial breakaway.
Noah Gregor appeared to tie it at 3:36 with a tap-in, but a video review determined Martin Kaut preceded the puck into the offensive zone. However, Karlsson did tie it 3-3 at 17:49 with a slap shot through traffic from the left point during a 6-on-5. He ranks first among NHL defensemen with 19 goals this season.
"We had a good [offensive-zone] shift," Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic said. "Erik comes on the ice, and it's not a bad thing to give it to Karlsson this year. You give it to him and it will eventually be in the back of the net."
Chicago won in a shootout with a final score of 4-3.
The San Jose Sharks have won four of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Calling it now: Denis Gurianov has a goal and two assists because why not? Canadiens 4, Sharks 3
The Montreal Canadiens lost against the Ottawa Senators last Saturday, February 25 at Bell Centre in Montreal with a score of 5-2. The Montreal Canadiens currently rank 8th in the Atlantic Division.
Mike Matheson and Nick Suzuki scored, and Sam Montembeault made 17 saves for Montreal (25-30-4), which had won five of seven.
"We gave up 2-on-1s that really hurt us tonight," Canadiens defenseman David Savard said. "I think overall we were playing good, and the first two periods were a textbook of how we wanted to play. Obviously, there were a couple of mistakes, they scored, but I think we were creating a lot. We weren't giving much, and in the third a couple of mistakes and they got the lead, and after that they were playing well with the lead."
Losing all four games to the Senators this season did not sit well with Savard and his teammates.
"Obviously, that's frustrating," Montreal forward Michael Pezzetta said. "I mean, it's a team that I think we have a lot of bad blood between each other and, yeah, obviously not happy right now, and not a good feeling."
Derick Brassard put the Senators ahead 1-0 at 15:12 of the first period. He tipped Holden's shot from the point inside the left post after Mark Kastelic won an offensive zone face-off.
Matheson tied it 1-1 at 4:29 of the second period when he skated around Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot and flipped his own rebound over Sogaard. Suzuki put the Canadiens ahead 2-1 at 8:46, deking Sogaard on a breakaway for his 20th goal of the season.
Shane Pinto tied it 2-2 at 13:51 when he redirected Alex DeBrincat's pass in the slot.
Ottawa proceeded to score three more goals, resulting in a final score of 5-2.
The Montreal Canadiens have won five of their last 10 games.
The San Jose Sharks lost against the Chicago Blackhawks last Saturday, February 25 at SAP Center in San Jose, California with a score of 4-3 resulting from a shootout. The San Jose Sharks currently rank 7th in the Pacific Division.
Erik Karlsson scored, Nico Sturm had two assists, and Kaapo Kahkonen made 32 saves for the Sharks (18-30-12), who are 1-2-1 during a season-long seven-game homestand.
"I thought we played well," San Jose coach David Quinn said. "Good pace, good tempo. The penalty situation wasn't in our favor (four power plays for Chicago, one for San Jose), which was frustrating."
The Sharks retired the No. 12 of former forward Patrick Marleau in a pregame ceremony, the first retired number in their history. Marleau, who ranks first in NHL history in games played (1,779), played 21 seasons for San Jose and is its all-time leader in a number of categories, including games played (1,607), goals (522) and points (1,111).
"It's a night I'll never forget," Quinn said. "Even if you don't know him, there were moments we all got a little emotional for that man. It was a special night."
David Gust gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead at 2:14 of the first period. Nick Bonino tied it 1-1 at 4:17, scoring on the rebound of a shot by Jacob MacDonald.
Brett Seney responded for the Blackhawks to make it 2-1 at 5:12. Evgeny Svechnikov tied it 2-2 at 10:52 after receiving a centering pass from Sturm from behind the net.
"Good to fight back at the end and get a goal late," Sharks captain Logan Couture said. "But when you don't win it [stinks]. We would have liked to get that win."
Max Domi gave the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead 16 seconds into the third period when he skated down the left wing and scored from the face-off circle on a partial breakaway.
Noah Gregor appeared to tie it at 3:36 with a tap-in, but a video review determined Martin Kaut preceded the puck into the offensive zone. However, Karlsson did tie it 3-3 at 17:49 with a slap shot through traffic from the left point during a 6-on-5. He ranks first among NHL defensemen with 19 goals this season.
"We had a good [offensive-zone] shift," Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic said. "Erik comes on the ice, and it's not a bad thing to give it to Karlsson this year. You give it to him and it will eventually be in the back of the net."
Chicago won in a shootout with a final score of 4-3.
The San Jose Sharks have won four of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Calling it now: Denis Gurianov has a goal and two assists because why not? Canadiens 4, Sharks 3
Betting trends
Canadiens are 7-9 after a division game this season.
Canadiens are 15-23 revenging a loss this season.
Sharks are 8-19 in non-conference games this season.
Projected lines
Canadiens:
Rafael Harvey-Pinard -- Nick Suzuki -- Josh Anderson
Rem Pitlick -- Christian Dvorak -- Denis Gurianov
Mike Hoffman -- Jonathan Drouin -- Jesse Ylonen
Michael Pezzetta -- Chris Tierney -- Alex Belzile
Mike Matheson -- Justin Barron
Corey Schueneman -- David Savard
Jordan Harris -- Johnathan Kovacevic
Jake Allen
Rafael Harvey-Pinard -- Nick Suzuki -- Josh Anderson
Rem Pitlick -- Christian Dvorak -- Denis Gurianov
Mike Hoffman -- Jonathan Drouin -- Jesse Ylonen
Michael Pezzetta -- Chris Tierney -- Alex Belzile
Mike Matheson -- Justin Barron
Corey Schueneman -- David Savard
Jordan Harris -- Johnathan Kovacevic
Jake Allen
Sharks:
Michael Eyssimont -- Logan Couture -- Alexander Barabanov
Noah Gregor -- Tomas Hertl -- Martin Kaut
Nick Bonino -- Nico Sturm -- Oskar Lindblom
Kevin Labanc -- Steven Lorentz -- Evgeny Svechnikov
Scott Harrington -- Erik Karlsson
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Matt Benning
Mario Ferraro -- Jacob MacDonald
Kaapo Kahkonen
Michael Eyssimont -- Logan Couture -- Alexander Barabanov
Noah Gregor -- Tomas Hertl -- Martin Kaut
Nick Bonino -- Nico Sturm -- Oskar Lindblom
Kevin Labanc -- Steven Lorentz -- Evgeny Svechnikov
Scott Harrington -- Erik Karlsson
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Matt Benning
Mario Ferraro -- Jacob MacDonald
Kaapo Kahkonen
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert hockey picks today. And if you enjoyed this Montreal Canadiens - San Jose Sharks prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily NHL projections and previews.
Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
