NHL Betting – Canucks, Sharks square off in San Jose

Take a break from those March Madness odds for a minute and check out this NHL matchup on the horizon in San Jose, where two of the top three teams in the Western Conference will meet when the Sharks host the Canucks, and both teams have been up and down as of late, looking for a spark to take them into the playoffs.

Canucks vs Sharks odds – Saturday, March 27, 10:00 PM ET

Sportsbook players could see that the Canucks were looking ahead to their Wednesday game against Anaheim when they lost 3-2 in Edmonton on Tuesday, so they spanked the Ducks 4-1 behind goals from Christian Ehrhoff, Daniel Sedin, Alex Burrows and Ryan Kesler. The Sedin twins combined for six points on the night, while linemate Burrows added his goal, and their production has to be one of the biggest surprises of the season. Everyone knew they were solid players, but now the Sedins are bonafide stars, and they’re two of the keys to the Canucks’ sportsbook odds to lift the Stanley Cup. The other key, Roberto Luongo, sat this game out, but Andrew Raycroft stepped in nicely to stop 30 shots.

After losing five in a row, all on the road, the Sharks have now won two straight after a 3-0 shutout of Dallas at home on Thursday. Evgeni Nabokov made 27 saves for the 50^th shutout of his career, and he got support by goals from Rob Blake, Dan Boyle and Logan Couture. This will be the second of a three-game homestand for the Sharks, who then head out on the road for four more games, and they’ll have to sort out their problems away from home if they want to feel like they can emerge out of the tough West.

The Sharks should be favored at home by your sportsbook odds (sportsbook reviews), and the Canucks have lost their last four trips to San Jose. Even though they’ve won two of their last three against the Sharks, the Canucks had lost seven straight to the Sharks prior to that, and it seems that this is just one of those matchups where one team has the number of the other. The gold-medal Canadian will be well represented, as Luongo will face Boyle, Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau on the other side. Luongo hasn’t played well since the Olympics ended, and the Canucks need him to be at his best if they want to be a factor in the playoffs. The Sharks are tough to beat at home, so you should take San Jose on Saturday night before making your NCAA basketball betting picks.