by Chuck Sommers
Thursday, Feb 23, 2023
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
Venue: SAP Center, San Jose, CA
Where to watch: BSSO, NBCSCA
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Predators -135, Sharks +115
FanDuel: Predators -135, Sharks +115
BetMGM: Predators -135, Sharks +115
Caesars: Predators -135, Sharks +115
Season record
Predators: 27-22-6
Sharks: 18-29-11
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!
Predators - Sharks preview, prediction and analysis
The Nashville Predators will be playing the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, February 23 in San Jose, California.
The Nashville Predators won against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, February 21 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee with a score of 5-4 ending in a shootout. The Nashville Predators currently rank 5th in the Central Division.
Philip Tomasino scored his first goal of the season, and Juuso Parssinen had two assists for the Predators (27-22-6), who had lost three of four. Juuse Saros made 35 saves.
"Definitely happy we won the game, but it's … we can't go that far," Nashville forward Nino Niederreiter said. "We have to make sure we close the game out earlier. Overall, we've just got to be a lot better, but we found a way."
Predators center Ryan Johansen was helped to the locker room at 16:43 of the second period after the skate blade of Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes appeared to make contact with the back of his lower right leg.
"It didn't look good," Nashville coach John Hynes said. "I know that he got cut. Other than that, I have not had a chance to talk to the trainers yet."
Cole Smith gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 4:38 of the first period, scoring on a rebound near the right post after Delia stopped Colton Sissons' attempt from in front with his right pad. Canucks coach Rick Tocchet challenged the play for offside, but the call was confirmed after a video review.
Tomasino made it 2-0 at 7:57 of the second period with a power-play goal. He lifted a shot over Delia's glove from the edge of the crease off a give-and-go with Parssinen.
"Obviously, it was nice to get that first one out of the way, and I think it was a big goal for our group and for our unit, especially," said Tomasino, who was playing his fifth game this season. "I think we've had some good looks the last few games and haven't been able to click. Obviously, great play by Parssinen to [feed] me there."
Andrei Kuzmenko cut it to 2-1 at 12:47, receiving a stretch pass from Ethan Bear and scoring on a breakaway for his 25th goal of the season. Sheldon Dries tied it 2-2 with 22 seconds left in the period when he jammed in a loose puck in the crease on a power play.
Niederreiter responded 12 seconds later to put Nashville back in front 3-2. Tommy Novak sent the puck out front from below the goal line, and Niederreiter slid in his own rebound with his backhand.
Mikael Granlund pushed it to 4-2 at 7:44 of the third period, knocking in the puck after Cody Glass' shot trickled past Delia.
Conor Garland and Kuzmenko scored, tying the game. Nashville recovered after blowing a two-goal lead late in the third period, winning in a shootout.
The Nashville Predators have won six of their last 10 games.
The San Jose Sharks won against the Seattle Kraken last Monday, February 20 at SAP Center in San Jose, California with a score of 4-0. The San Jose Sharks currently rank 7th in the Pacific Division.
James Reimer made 26 saves for San Jose. It was Reimer's second shutout of the season and 27th in the NHL.
"It's a good feeling that you can play spoiler a little bit," Reimer said. "[Seattle is] a talented team, they're a hardworking team. We played a suffocating, aggressive style of play tonight and just didn't allow them to get anything going."
Reimer was making his first start since Jan. 27 after missing seven games with an illness.
"The team played great," he said. "We've had a couple of really solid games start to finish this year, and this is one."
Logan Couture and Evgeny Svechnikov each had a goal and an assist, and Erik Karlsson had two assists for the Sharks (18-29-11), who won for the fourth time in their past 12 games (4-6-2).
"I thought from the get-go we were on our toes," San Jose coach David Quinn said. "From top to bottom, I really liked our effort."
The Sharks played without forwards Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl. Meier sustained an upper-body injury in a 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday and is day to day. Hertl did not play due to personal reasons but is expected to return against the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
Couture was credited with the goal that gave San Jose a 1-0 lead at 10:45 of the second period when Seattle forward Yanni Gourde pulled an offensive-zone face-off back toward his own net, surprising Jones.
Svechnikov made it 2-0 at 16:08, scoring on his own rebound after he intercepted an outlet pass by Vince Dunn at the top of the right face-off circle.
Noah Gregor extended it to 3-0 at 19:42 when he received a drop pass by Svechnikov at the right point, skated into the left circle and scored stick side.
Michael Eyssimont tipped in a centering pass by Couture from the left boards at 16:57 of the third period for the 4-0 final.
"This is a really good team we just beat tonight," Quinn said. "It's good to see that we can step up our game when we need to."
The San Jose Sharks have won four of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Predators 4, Sharks 2
The Nashville Predators won against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, February 21 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee with a score of 5-4 ending in a shootout. The Nashville Predators currently rank 5th in the Central Division.
Philip Tomasino scored his first goal of the season, and Juuso Parssinen had two assists for the Predators (27-22-6), who had lost three of four. Juuse Saros made 35 saves.
"Definitely happy we won the game, but it's … we can't go that far," Nashville forward Nino Niederreiter said. "We have to make sure we close the game out earlier. Overall, we've just got to be a lot better, but we found a way."
Predators center Ryan Johansen was helped to the locker room at 16:43 of the second period after the skate blade of Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes appeared to make contact with the back of his lower right leg.
"It didn't look good," Nashville coach John Hynes said. "I know that he got cut. Other than that, I have not had a chance to talk to the trainers yet."
Cole Smith gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 4:38 of the first period, scoring on a rebound near the right post after Delia stopped Colton Sissons' attempt from in front with his right pad. Canucks coach Rick Tocchet challenged the play for offside, but the call was confirmed after a video review.
Tomasino made it 2-0 at 7:57 of the second period with a power-play goal. He lifted a shot over Delia's glove from the edge of the crease off a give-and-go with Parssinen.
"Obviously, it was nice to get that first one out of the way, and I think it was a big goal for our group and for our unit, especially," said Tomasino, who was playing his fifth game this season. "I think we've had some good looks the last few games and haven't been able to click. Obviously, great play by Parssinen to [feed] me there."
Andrei Kuzmenko cut it to 2-1 at 12:47, receiving a stretch pass from Ethan Bear and scoring on a breakaway for his 25th goal of the season. Sheldon Dries tied it 2-2 with 22 seconds left in the period when he jammed in a loose puck in the crease on a power play.
Niederreiter responded 12 seconds later to put Nashville back in front 3-2. Tommy Novak sent the puck out front from below the goal line, and Niederreiter slid in his own rebound with his backhand.
Mikael Granlund pushed it to 4-2 at 7:44 of the third period, knocking in the puck after Cody Glass' shot trickled past Delia.
Conor Garland and Kuzmenko scored, tying the game. Nashville recovered after blowing a two-goal lead late in the third period, winning in a shootout.
The Nashville Predators have won six of their last 10 games.
The San Jose Sharks won against the Seattle Kraken last Monday, February 20 at SAP Center in San Jose, California with a score of 4-0. The San Jose Sharks currently rank 7th in the Pacific Division.
James Reimer made 26 saves for San Jose. It was Reimer's second shutout of the season and 27th in the NHL.
"It's a good feeling that you can play spoiler a little bit," Reimer said. "[Seattle is] a talented team, they're a hardworking team. We played a suffocating, aggressive style of play tonight and just didn't allow them to get anything going."
Reimer was making his first start since Jan. 27 after missing seven games with an illness.
"The team played great," he said. "We've had a couple of really solid games start to finish this year, and this is one."
Logan Couture and Evgeny Svechnikov each had a goal and an assist, and Erik Karlsson had two assists for the Sharks (18-29-11), who won for the fourth time in their past 12 games (4-6-2).
"I thought from the get-go we were on our toes," San Jose coach David Quinn said. "From top to bottom, I really liked our effort."
The Sharks played without forwards Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl. Meier sustained an upper-body injury in a 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday and is day to day. Hertl did not play due to personal reasons but is expected to return against the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
Couture was credited with the goal that gave San Jose a 1-0 lead at 10:45 of the second period when Seattle forward Yanni Gourde pulled an offensive-zone face-off back toward his own net, surprising Jones.
Svechnikov made it 2-0 at 16:08, scoring on his own rebound after he intercepted an outlet pass by Vince Dunn at the top of the right face-off circle.
Noah Gregor extended it to 3-0 at 19:42 when he received a drop pass by Svechnikov at the right point, skated into the left circle and scored stick side.
Michael Eyssimont tipped in a centering pass by Couture from the left boards at 16:57 of the third period for the 4-0 final.
"This is a really good team we just beat tonight," Quinn said. "It's good to see that we can step up our game when we need to."
The San Jose Sharks have won four of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Predators 4, Sharks 2
Betting trends
Predators are 12-15 after an over this season.
Sharks are 8-16 off an under this season.
Sharks are 11-23 off a home this season.
Projected lines
Predators:
Mikael Granlund -- Ryan Johansen -- Matt Duchene
Nino Niederreiter -- Cody Glass -- Philip Tomasino
Yakov Trenin -- Colton Sissons -- Tanner Jeannot
Cole Smith -- Tommy Novak -- Juuso Parssinen
Ryan McDonagh -- Roman Josi
Mattias Ekholm -- Jeremy Lauzon
Kevin Gravel -- Dante Fabbro
Juuse Saros
Mikael Granlund -- Ryan Johansen -- Matt Duchene
Nino Niederreiter -- Cody Glass -- Philip Tomasino
Yakov Trenin -- Colton Sissons -- Tanner Jeannot
Cole Smith -- Tommy Novak -- Juuso Parssinen
Ryan McDonagh -- Roman Josi
Mattias Ekholm -- Jeremy Lauzon
Kevin Gravel -- Dante Fabbro
Juuse Saros
Sharks:
Michael Eyssimont -- Logan Couture -- Alexander Barabanov
Nick Bonino -- Nico Sturm -- Oskar Lindblom
Kevin Labanc -- Steven Lorentz -- Evgeny Svechnikov
Noah Gregor -- Martin Kaut
Scott Harrington -- Erik Karlsson
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Matt Benning
Mario Ferraro -- Jacob MacDonald
Nick Cicek
James Reimer
Michael Eyssimont -- Logan Couture -- Alexander Barabanov
Nick Bonino -- Nico Sturm -- Oskar Lindblom
Kevin Labanc -- Steven Lorentz -- Evgeny Svechnikov
Noah Gregor -- Martin Kaut
Scott Harrington -- Erik Karlsson
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Matt Benning
Mario Ferraro -- Jacob MacDonald
Nick Cicek
James Reimer
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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.
