Vancouver won on Tuesday for the first time in ten games. It took overtime in Anaheim and it finished 6-5, which is more goals than they had managed in their previous three put together. San Jose have lost two, including a 2-0 shut-out at home to Buffalo. The call, the team news and the Canadian prices are below.
How to watch
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Game | Vancouver Canucks at San Jose Sharks |
| Date | Thursday 29 October 2026 |
| Puck drop | 10:00pm ET / 7:00pm PT |
| Venue | SAP Center at San Jose |
| Records | Vancouver 3-10-1, San Jose 6-6-1 |
National and regional listings are not always the same thing in Canada. Our how to watch the NHL in Canada page explains which applies to you.
Canucks vs Sharks odds
The Canadian board for this one was still to come when the page was built. It will appear on the NHL odds page once the books open it.
Vancouver are last, and have just won for the first time since 11 October
The Canucks are 3-10-1 and thirty-second on seven points, with a goal difference of minus twenty-two. The 6-5 overtime win at Anaheim on Tuesday ended a run of ten games without a victory.
Sixty goals against in fourteen games is still the worst in the league. Nothing about one night in Anaheim changes that, and they had conceded six, five and four in the three before it.
The crease is split and the numbers are not close. Leevi Merilainen is at .912 across six starts; Kevin Lankinen is 1-7-0 with a .812 and a goals-against average above six. Thatcher Demko is out until around 21 December.
How they compare
| 2025-26 | Vancouver Canucks | San Jose Sharks |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 25-49-8 | 39-35-8 |
| Points | 58 | 86 |
| Goals for per game | 2.63 | 3.06 |
| Goals against per game | 3.85 | 3.56 |
| Power play | 21.8% | 21.2% |
| Penalty kill | 71.5% | 76.4% |
San Jose finished twenty-eight points clear of Vancouver last season and conceded a third of a goal a game less. Neither penalty kill was good, but Vancouver’s 71.5 per cent was the worst in the league and San Jose’s 76.4 was merely poor.
San Jose have lost two and were shut out at home
The Sharks are 6-6-1 and eighteenth on thirteen points. Buffalo beat them 2-0 at the SAP Center on Tuesday and Boston won 6-4 before that.
They have been better on the road than at home this season, which is an odd thing to carry into a game against the club with the worst record in hockey. The goal difference is minus eight.
Alex Nedeljkovic has the better of the crease at 3-1-1 and a .903, with Yaroslav Askarov 3-4-0 at .883. Alexander Wennberg is out until around 9 November and Igor Chernyshov until the middle of the month.
Four of the last five cleared five goals
| Date | Result | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Apr 2026 | Vancouver 4-3 (SO) | San Jose |
| 27 Jan 2026 | San Jose 5-2 | Vancouver |
| 27 Dec 2025 | San Jose 6-3 | Vancouver |
| 28 Nov 2025 | San Jose 3-2 | San Jose |
| 14 Apr 2025 | Vancouver 2-1 (OT) | Vancouver |
Vancouver lead the all-time series 84 wins to 64, a margin built over forty years. San Jose have taken three of the last five, including both meetings at Rogers Arena last season.
Those five produced 7, 7, 9, 5 and 3 goals, an average of 6.2. Four of them cleared five. Two went past regulation, which is what tends to happen when two clubs this far down the table meet.
Team news
| Club | Player | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Vancouver | Thatcher Demko | Out, hip, on injured reserve to around 21 December |
| Vancouver | Mackenzie MacEachern | Out, on injured reserve to 7 November |
| Vancouver | Akil Thomas | Out, on injured reserve to 9 November |
| San Jose | Alexander Wennberg | Out, upper body, to around 9 November |
| San Jose | Igor Chernyshov | Out, upper body, to mid-November |
| San Jose | Quentin Musty | Out, upper body, on injured reserve to 1 December |
| San Jose | Kyle Keyser | Out, upper body, on injured reserve to 1 December |
Who starts in goal is an open question. Vancouver Canucks has split between Merilainen (6 starts, .912) and Lankinen (7, .812), and San Jose Sharks has split between Nedeljkovic (5 starts, .903) and Askarov (7, .883). Form and selection are different questions, and only one of them is settled before the morning skate.
We keep the rest of the league on our NHL injury report.
Players to watch
Leevi Merilainen, Vancouver. A .912 behind the worst defence in the league, and a hundred points clear of the other Vancouver option.
Alex Nedeljkovic, San Jose. 3-1-1 at .903 and the better of the two Sharks goaltenders.
Brock Boeser, Vancouver. Among the scorers in the six-goal night at Anaheim that ended the run.
Score prediction
San Jose Sharks 4-3 Vancouver Canucks. San Jose are at home and Vancouver are conceding more than four a game.
Canucks vs Sharks prediction
San Jose are the side we would take, without much conviction about either of these. They are home, thirteen points better off, and Vancouver have won three games all season.
The case for Vancouver is Merilainen and the night in Anaheim. A .912 behind that defence is a real number, and a club that has just scored six after three weeks of scoring nothing is not the same proposition it was on Sunday. Our lean: San Jose, and the over. Four of the last five meetings cleared five goals, Vancouver concede 4.3 a game, and San Jose were shut out at home last time out.
The NHL power rankings puts both clubs against the other 30, and the rest of Thursday’s games sits on the NHL schedule.
Puck drop is 10:00pm ET / 7:00pm PT on Thursday 29 October 2026 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.
Yes. They beat Anaheim 6-5 in overtime on Tuesday, which was their first win in ten games. They are still 3-10-1 and last in the NHL.
Leevi Merilainen has the better numbers at .912 across six starts. Kevin Lankinen is 1-7-0 with a .812. Thatcher Demko is out until around 21 December.
Vancouver lead the all-time series 84 wins to 64, though San Jose have taken three of the last five.
San Jose to win 4-3, and the over. Four of the last five meetings cleared five goals.
19+ (18+ in AB, MB and QC). Picks are opinion, not advice, and odds change constantly. Availability varies by province. Please play responsibly. ConnexOntario: 1-866-531-2600 for Ontario residents; see your province’s helpline for resources elsewhere.