NHL Hockey Betting: Nashville Predators at San Jose Sharks

Only one NHL hockey game on the board for Thursday but it should be a good one as the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks play Game 7. The Predators have done well with their backs against the wall during the postseason and they fought off elimination last time out as they tied the game late in regulation and won it early in overtime. The winner of this game will advance to the Western Conference Finals.

I’ve followed this Nashville team very closely this year and I can’t for the life of me figure them out. On any given night, they have the talent to look like a Stanley Cup champion. They also have the ability to look like an ECHL minor league team. The same thing goes for goalie Pekka Rinne–at his best there are few better. At his worst, he also looks like a minor leaguer. But credit where credit is due–after a mediocre regular season the Predators have fought like rabid wolverines at times during this playoffs. Their dubious focus has been an issue–they blew a 2-0 lead against Anaheim by losing Games 3 and 4 at home in two of their worst performances of the season. They came back to turn in one of their best efforts of the year in Game Six and then shocked everyone–including their own fans–by winning Game 7 at the Honda Center.

San Jose might be a marginally better team on paper but they’re not good enough that they can just ‘phone it in’ against a talented opponent. Really, there isn’t a team in the NHL that doesn’t have to bring the effort–keep in mind that the President’s Cup Champion is going to be watching the rest of the playoffs on television. Martin Jones has been excellent at times but also very shaky at other times.

From a betting standpoint, it’s hard to get past the Sharks’ awful home record this year (18-20-3). Everyone associated with the team says that those troubles are behind them. That may be true, but I don’t want to lay -180 with a team that had fewer points at home than Edmonton or Winnipeg. We’ll take the price with the Predators.

BET NASHVILLE PREDATORS +160 OVER SAN JOSE SHARKS