Sharks vs Ducks

With San Jose snapping a three-game skid last night in Vancouver and Anaheim dropping four of its last five, this moneyline leans toward a Ducks bounce-back on home ice despite the recent wobble, especially with the Ducks owning a strong 12-6-0 home mark against a Sharks group that is still sub-.500 on the road. Significant injuries trim depth on both sides — San Jose is missing key pieces like Logan Couture and multiple forwards/defenders from its active roster, while Anaheim has been navigating Leo Carlsson’s recent lower-body issue and Frank Vatrano’s day-to-day status — but the Ducks’ forward core of Carlsson (if he returns), Cutter Gauthier, Mason McTavish, Troy Terry and Chris Kreider still profiles deeper than a Celebrini-and-Toffoli-driven Sharks offense over 60 minutes. In the first meeting, that Ducks skill and size eventually overwhelmed San Jose in a 7-6 overtime comeback, and even though the Sharks’ kids have grown since October, Anaheim’s overall scoring balance and home-ice metrics make them a justifiable favorite in what is still an important divisional points grab as both clubs hover around the playoff bubble near the season’s midway point. At -190, the price isn’t cheap and the value is only moderate, but with Anaheim’s combination of home dominance, offensive ceiling and San Jose’s injury list, I’d grade Ducks moneyline as a B-level play for probability with only average monetary upside. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 29/12/2025 09:44

San Jose comes in playing wide-open hockey — 5-5 in its last 10 but averaging 3.4 goals for and 3.4 against — while Anaheim has hit a choppier 4-5-1 stretch with 2.9 goals for and 3.6 allowed per game, a combination that screams volatility and high-event minutes more than it does a low-scoring grind. Injuries again matter here: the Sharks’ blue line is down bodies like Vincent Desharnais and Timothy Liljegren and is leaning heavily on Dmitry Orlov and John Klingberg in tough minutes, while the Ducks have been without leading scorer Leo Carlsson and could be missing trigger man Frank Vatrano, which slightly reins in Anaheim’s offense but also keeps them in scramble mode defensively as lines are juggled. The first meeting finished 7-6 in overtime with Carlsson, Gauthier and Kreider torching a still-gelling Sharks defense and San Jose answering through Tyler Toffoli, Jeff Skinner and company, and even if tonight’s goaltending matchup of Yaroslav Askarov versus Lukas Dostal is capable of better numbers than their roughly mid-pack save percentages, the combination of both teams’ season-long goals for/against rates around the mid-3s, their recent leaky form, and their aggressive young cores suggests another game that more often lands in the 7–8 total-goal range than under 6.5. With -120 implying only a modest tax on what projects as a high-event rematch, I grade Over 6.5 as a B: a solid, if not elite, edge in a spot where pace, defensive injuries and prior matchup history all tilt toward another busy scoreboard. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 29/12/2025 09:44

The Sharks may be just 5-5 in their last 10, but snapping a three-game slide with a 6-3 win in Vancouver and riding a multi-game point streak from Celebrini into Anaheim makes them look more dangerous than their modest road record suggests, especially against a Ducks team that has lost four of five and been outscored 18-8 over its last three defeats. While San Jose is banged up — missing playmakers like Will Smith and Philipp Kurashev plus key depth on defense — Anaheim’s own issues with Carlsson’s health and Vatrano’s questionable status narrow the gap in top-six firepower and make it harder for the Ducks to consistently pull away, particularly if Dostal has another busy night behind an increasingly leaky defense. The prior meeting finished as a one-goal Ducks OT win (7-6), the Ducks have hovered near break-even in goal differential despite their better record, and the Sharks’ young skill group of Celebrini, Toffoli, William Eklund and Jeff Skinner has already shown it can trade chances with Anaheim’s top line, all of which points toward a tightly contested divisional game where Anaheim is more likely to edge out a one-goal result than to win in a blowout. With that context, grabbing San Jose +1.5 at -135 offers a strong blend of probability and value compared with the rich Ducks moneyline, and I grade the Sharks puckline as a B+ play expecting a close finish in a game both teams badly want for Pacific Division positioning. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 29/12/2025 09:44