by Chuck Sommers
Sunday, Nov 13, 2022
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Venue: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN
Where to watch: Bally Sports North, Bally Sports Wisconsin, NBC Sports California
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Wild -250, Sharks +210
FanDuel: Wild -260, Sharks +210
BetMGM: Wild -286, Sharks +230
Caesars: Wild -260, Sharks +210
Season record
Sharks: 4-9-3 (11 points)
Wild: 7-6-1 (15 points)
What an electric start to the NHL season. So much parity, so many good teams through the first 10-plus games, you have every right to be excited! Of course the Vegas Golden Knights and Boston Bruins are heading the fun charge here as the top two teams in the league, because of course they are. But never count out the Avalanche, you know they're always going to be hanging around and will be eating worlds once they get everyone healthy. But this is a good time to be playing these hockey games, as well. Look no further than our own Vegas Writer off to a 14-11-0 start over the first 30 days of the NHL season. There's also ASA, Inc. posting a 10-5-1 mark through the first month. You know you can trust our champion handicappers to get you across the finish line with your NHL bets. Check out our Best Bets page at bigal.com to see what we're throwing down!
Sharks - Wild preview, prediction and analysis
Recent results
Sharks: won 5-4 at Stars on Friday
Wild: won 2 straight; won 1-0 at Kraken on Friday
Don’t look now, but the Minnesota Wild appear to be getting their sea legs under them. Marc-Andre Fleury is rolling right now, and they’re finding ways to win. Minnesota will be looking for its third straight win on Sunday back at home when the Wild host the San Jose Sharks.
Don’t look now, but the Minnesota Wild appear to be getting their sea legs under them. Marc-Andre Fleury is rolling right now, and they’re finding ways to win. Minnesota will be looking for its third straight win on Sunday back at home when the Wild host the San Jose Sharks.
The Wild haven’t had a fun time as of lately, trying to find what’s been going on between a rough defensive lapse and an unfortunate tandem in goal. But Fleury has been getting it back on track after a 1-0 shutout victory over the Seattle Kraken to end their winning streak at five games.
Fleury made 28 saves, and Mats Zuccarello scored the only goal of the game to give the Wild their second straight victory. It was Fleury’s 72nd shutout in the NHL and the Kraken – believe this or not – are the 28th team Fleury has had a shutout on, the most in NHL history.
"Obviously, [Fleury] was real good, but I think everybody in front of him was really committed," Minnesota coach Dean Evason said. "A lot of blocked shots (22), he did a lot of good things. Certainly, when we broke down, he was there to bail us out."
Fleury, who has never been one to know about records when they happen, was certainly unaware of such a thing but likely smiled about it and it was another reminder that the ageless wonder is, in fact, old.
"I didn't know [about the record]," Fleury said. "I think it just means that I'm old, maybe. I've played for a while, I don't know, it's nice."
It’s unclear if Minnesota has been able to put things together on a consistent basis, but should this continue – especially with Fleury playing this well – you have to like what’s going on with Minnesota right now. The Wild are supposed to be much better than this, and the Wild are going to need a better backup than Filip Gustavsson at some point to give Fleury some rest. At least that shouldn’t be the case this time around.
The Sharks ended their five-game losing streak on Friday with a 5-4 win at the Dallas Stars in what might have been San Jose’s most impressive win of the season. Timo Meier scored for the fifth straight game, and three other players had two points – Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl and Alexander Barbanov – to give the fighting Sharks a very good win.
Even though they’re 4-9-3, the Sharks have shown they’re willing to stay competitive in a lot of these games. How much longer that stays remains to be seen, but David Quinn has at least something going right for the moment.
"There were a lot of good things in our game, and we took a step forward in learning how to win a game,” Quinn said. It's going to take a little time, we're still fragile from the last two weeks and the losing we've done, and the way we've done it. But we took a step forward tonight."
Prediction
The Wild have done most of their damage at home to begin the season and this plays into their favor with Fleury on the roll he’s on. I like Minnesota to keep this up and win another game. Wild win 4-2
Betting trends
Wild are 27-7 at home the last three years off an under.
Wild are 19-4 at home the last three years after allowing 2 goals or less in 2 straight games.
Wild are 125-76 at home after scoring 1 goal or less in team history.
Sharks are 173-153 on road after losing 2 of 3 since 1996.
Projected lines
Sharks:
Timo Meier -- Tomas Hertl -- Kevin Labanc
Matt Nieto -- Logan Couture -- Alexander Barabanov
Oskar Lindblom -- Nico Sturm -- Luke Kunin
Noah Gregor -- Nick Bonino -- Jonah Gadjovich
Jaycob Megna -- Erik Karlsson
Matt Benning -- Mario Ferraro
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Radim Simek
James Reimer
Timo Meier -- Tomas Hertl -- Kevin Labanc
Matt Nieto -- Logan Couture -- Alexander Barabanov
Oskar Lindblom -- Nico Sturm -- Luke Kunin
Noah Gregor -- Nick Bonino -- Jonah Gadjovich
Jaycob Megna -- Erik Karlsson
Matt Benning -- Mario Ferraro
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Radim Simek
James Reimer
Wild:
Kirill Kaprizov -- Frederick Gaudreau -- Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Foligno -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Matt Boldy
Connor Dewar -- Marco Rossi -- Mason Shaw
Adam Beckman -- Sam Steel -- Joseph Cramarossa
Jacob Middleton -- Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin -- Matt Dumba
Jon Merrill -- Calen Addison
Marc-Andre Fleury
Kirill Kaprizov -- Frederick Gaudreau -- Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Foligno -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Matt Boldy
Connor Dewar -- Marco Rossi -- Mason Shaw
Adam Beckman -- Sam Steel -- Joseph Cramarossa
Jacob Middleton -- Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin -- Matt Dumba
Jon Merrill -- Calen Addison
Marc-Andre Fleury
Statistical leaders
Sharks:
Points: Erik Karlsson -- 21
Goals: Erik Karlsson -- 10
Assists: Erik Karlsson -- 11
Goalie: James Reimer -- 3-5-2, 2.99 GAA, .906 SV%
Wild:
Points: Kirill Kaprizov -- 16
Goals: Kirill Kaprizov -- 10
Assists: Mats Zuccarello -- 8
Goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury -- 6-3-2, 2.87 GAA, .905 SV%
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert hockey picks today. And if you enjoyed this San Jose Sharks - Minnesota Wild 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.
