Detroit Red Wings vs San Jose Sharks 17 October 2026 Prediction

The San Jose Sharks visit the Detroit Red Wings after a strong start to the season gave way to uneven results. Detroit sits at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, while a win would help San Jose strengthen its playoff position.

Detroit's Offensive Struggles

Detroit signed Alex DeBrincat to a seven-year contract, but the team's results have been poor. The Red Wings have six points through seven games and sit last in the Eastern Conference. Their defense has held up reasonably well, but manager Todd McLellan's team has struggled to score. Detroit has been shut out twice, losing 2-0 to the New York Rangers and 1-0 in a shootout to the Montreal Canadiens.

Detroit earned its second win of the season against the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-1, but its finishing remained a concern. The Red Wings generated 4.3 expected goals and scored twice. They also had nearly seven minutes on the power play without converting.

Detroit Red Wings Predicted Lineup: G: Gibson (Tarasov); D: Chiarot, Seider; F: Danielson, Larkin, Arvidsson

Other Roster Players: Defensemen: Wallinder, Faulk, Albert Johansson, Anton Johansson, Sandin-Pellikka; forwards: DeBrincat, Finnie, Brandsegg-Nygard, Rasmussen, Copp, Raymond, Dries, Kolesar

Unavailable: Kasper, Compher, Appleton (injured)

Manager: Todd McLellan

San Jose's Recent Form

After overtime wins over the Florida Panthers (4-3) and Los Angeles Kings (5-4), San Jose lost three of its next five games. One win in that stretch came against the St. Louis Blues, 3-2 in overtime. The Sharks scored 10 goals across those five games and were shut out 5-0 by the Dallas Stars. Ivar Stenberg scored his first NHL goal in a 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins.

San Jose gave up the tying goal with one second left in regulation against the Nashville Predators, then won 3-2 in a shootout. Will Smith scored in regulation, and Macklin Celebrini delivered the shootout winner.

San Jose Sharks Predicted Lineup: G: Askarov (Nedeljkovic); D: Orlov, Kesselring; F: Chernyshov, Celebrini, Smith

Other Roster Players: Defensemen: Dickinson, Trouba, Allan, Cagnoni; forwards: Marchment, Wennberg, Toffoli, Stenberg, Misa, Sherwood, Goodrow, Ostapchuk, Graf

Injury Report: Nurse (questionable)

Manager: Ryan Warsofsky

Head-to-Head Results

Detroit won the teams' only meeting in 2026, 4-2. The Red Wings scored in every period, converted 16% of their shots and scored once on the power play.

Key Stats

San Jose averages 2.3 expected goals per game, the second-lowest mark in the NHL.

Detroit averages 30.4 shots on goal per game, a top-five mark in the league.

The Sharks allow 1.7 third-period goals per game; only the Calgary Flames allow more.

Detroit Red Wings vs San Jose Sharks Prediction: San Jose Sharks Moneyline

Primary pick: Detroit has lost five of its last seven home games and allowed at least five goals in two of its last three at home. San Jose has won two of its last three visits to Detroit. The pick is San Jose Sharks moneyline at 2.08. A riskier exact-score pick is a 4-3 San Jose win.

Totals pick: Both teams have scoring options, but defense remains a concern. At least eight goals were scored in three of Detroit's last five games, while San Jose's second-most-recent game featured nine. The pick is over 6.5 total goals at 2.24.