Scoreboard	1	2	3	Odds
Colorado Avalanche 38-30-12-2	0	2	2	+6
San Jose Sharks 46-27-6-3	1	0	2	+129

Avalanche vs. Sharks Game 2 Prediction: NHL Playoffs Betting Odds

Game 2 between the San Jose Sharks and the Colorado Avalanche starts at 7:30PM ET at SAP Center on Sunday The Avs have been in this position before, very recently. Anyone predicting the outcome of the series between the Flames and the Avalanche in round one was probably expecting the Calgary club to dominate and take the series in less than 7 games. Anyone predicting that was dead wrong. Not only did the Avs bounce back from that first loss in Calgary, they never lost another game in that series.

So what’s the safer prediction for this series? Let’s look at some factors and statistics.

Avalanche vs. Sharks Stanley Cup Playoffs Betting Analysis

In situations like this the story becomes one about a team that has rested too long and are expected to be rusty, and a team coming off a huge win just a day or two prior and riding some real momentum. If you watched Game 1 of this series, you may have thought that explained the 5-2 loss. The Colorado club hadn’t played in a week before that game on Friday, but watching them on the ice, you’d have to question the rusty legs theory. They were skating fast and handling the puck well. In fact, they led a couple times during the first two periods and had outshot the Sharks 16-9.

Let’s talk about how these teams matched up more recently. The Avalanche is 2-15-6 in their past 23 at the Sharks in the last decade. During the playoffs, when the Sharks win those crucial first two games, they are 9-2 to take the series. Intimidating numbers for Avs fans.

That said, in that shocking Flames-Avalanche series, the one in which the Avalanche lost Game 1 4-0, something happened in the four games that followed that made Colorado look like a bonafide Cup contender.

Sports Interaction bettors are leaning towards a Game 1 repeat, with 60% of bets being placed on a Sharks win.

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche haven’t been very good playing at the SAP Center these past eleven years. They’ve only ever won two games there in that time, and if they want a fighting chance at moving forward, they’re going to have to break some old habits. Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog knows it too.

“I think it’s a tough building to play in. It’s a good team. It gets loud too. I don’t know. We don’t think about it too much that it’s too hard for us to play here, but we haven’t been successful lately but we have to find a way [Sunday].”

When a team loses a game 5-2, the fingers start pointing. Is Philipp Grubauer losing his nerve? He managed to play well enough leading up to the postseason that he took the starting spot away from Semyon Varlamov. He looked incredible in that dominating performance against the Flames, but he didn’t look as comfortable in front of the Sharks offence.

Watching Nathan MacKinnon outplay the Flames in every way made it look like he could win the Stanley Cup by himself. He was playing on another level. MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen combined for 17 points in those last four games against Calgary. On Friday’s game against San Jose, they only got one assist each. Do not be surprised to see MacKinnon get back into that mindset for Game 2 and be a difference maker.

San Jose Sharks

Sharks fans who’d been worried about how their team would handle Joe Pavelski’s absence in Game 1 had those fears put to rest pretty quickly on Friday.

Brent Burns was on fire with four points from a goal and three assists and he blocked six shots. It’s safe to say it was one of his best games ever, since he set the Shark’s record for points in a playoff game by a D, and for career postseason points by a defenceman with 51.

Burns had help. Joe Thornton had a goal and an assist, Kevin Labanc netted one and Timo Meier got the empty-netter in the last 30 seconds of regulation. Martin Jones had 26 saves and is on a four game win streak after initially looking like he wasn’t ready for postseason-level hockey after three terrible showings against Las Vegas.

“We have to expect their best game,” Shark Brenden Dillon said. “They came out hard, we know we’ve got another level that we have to get to and can get to. I think the first 5-10 minutes (of Game 1), the teams are kind of feeling each other out, different systems, different team makeups, so I think every game is going to get tougher and tougher as the series goes on. It’s desperation time for both teams.”