Vancouver Canucks vs. San Jose Sharks Predictions, Picks and NHL Preview – March 31, 2016

In terms of the Stanley Cup Playoff picture, both the San Jose Sharks and the Vancouver Canucks know exactly where they stand: San Jose’s in, and Vancouver is out.

But that doesn’t mean that Thursday night’s matchup between these two Pacific Division rivals won’t matter. The Sharks will look to win as many games as they have left in hopes of a higher seed and home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, whereas the Canucks will look to play the part of spoilers to the team that has been their bane for the past few seasons.

Let’s find out more about this final regular-season series battle between two of the NHL’s proudest West Coast organizations below. Afterwards, be on top of all the league’s action with our weekly Power Rankings and Stanley Cup Odds Update features for even more sweet hockey news and betting opportunities.

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Vancouver Canucks vs. San Jose Sharks Preview

Where: SAP Center, San Jose

When: Thursday, March 31, 10:30 PM ET

Line: Vancouver Canucks at San Jose Sharks – view all NHL lines

Betting on the Vancouver Canucks (27-16-13)

Boy, how the once-mighty Vancouver Canucks have fallen. With a 4-1 loss to the Sharks on Tuesday, Vancouver has now dropped nine-straight contests. Their 67 points for the season are tied for the fewest in the NHL’s current standings, and the team’s free fall doesn’t appear to be coming to an end anytime soon.

Winger Chris Higgins scored the lone goal for the Canucks on Tuesday night – only his third goal of the season and first since coming back earlier this month from a brief stint in the AHL.

Having a player that was recently relegated to the minors as the only goal-scorer for the evening speaks volumes of Vancouver’s offensive woes. The team’s pair of standout siblings, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, failed to tally points for the third-consecutive game.

Daniel leads the Canucks in points (59) and goals (27) this season, while Henrik tops the club in assists (27). However, the Brothers Sedin have combined for just two measly points and not a single goal over the last eight games.

Apart from needing to get its offensive mojo back, Vancouver also needs to pick up its slack at protecting the net. Although Tuesday’s starting goalie in Jacob Markstrom made 27 saves against the Sharks compared to San Jose’s James Reimer’s 23, four goals allowed is still one too many for this struggling Canadian unit.

To add insult to injury, the Canucks have lost five of their last seven meetings against the Sharks. With the way things look as we speak, a double-digit losing streak appears to be on the horizon for British Columbia’s very own.

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Betting on the San Jose Sharks (43-28-6)

Even though the Sharks just clinched a playoff berth with a superb 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday, the San Jose Sharks didn’t put their feet off the pedal in the road game against the Canucks the following night.

The Sharks had every reason to take a breather from its back-to-back contest on Tuesday. But instead, Logan Couture blasted in three goals for his first-career hat trick and got San Jose’s playoff bid back on the right track. As it stands, the team is just three points behind Los Angeles in the race for the Pacific Division crown with just five games remaining on the schedule.

As mentioned earlier, the Sharks won over the Canucks on Tuesday behind just one goal allowed by netminder James Reimer. Given San Jose’s starting lineup patterns, there’s a huge possibility that Reimer won’t start against Vancouver on Thursday. However, team might actually see this dilemma as a welcome problem.

San Jose’s true starting goalie, Martin Jones, owns the Canucks even on their home ice. The Sharks won the last two contests held in Vancouver with Jones guarding the steel posts by allowing just a total of three goals during that span.

Then again, the Bay Area’s only NHL club has lost five-straight regular season home games against the boys from B.C. Yet with the trends in the season’s standings heading in opposite directions for both teams, it’s more likely that San Jose will finally put an end to the Canucks’ hex in the Shark Tank, and ultimately win the fourth of their five regular-season meetings this season.

Writer’s Prediction

The Sharks take a bite out of the Canucks once again, 3-1.