Calgary Flames at Vancouver Canucks NHL Picks & Predictions 12/17/2017

Sunday, December 17, 2017

Rogers Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Calgary Flames travel to Rogers Arena to play the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday, December 17, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Flames at -170 and the Canucks at +145.

Calgary has a record of 16-13-3 this season and on the road they have a record of 8-4-3. They are 4th in the Pacific Division. They've scored 91 goals and given up 99 goals for a point differential of -8. For the season they have an ATS record of 16-16-0 and an over/under record of 15-16-0. Vancouver has a record of 15-14-4 including 6-7-3 at home this season. They are 6th in the Pacific Division. They've scored 87 goals and surrendered 100 for a goal differential of -13. Their record against the spread is 15-18-0 while their over/under record is 18-15-0.

Valuable Calgary Flames Betting Trends

The Calgary Flames are 16-16-0 straight up this year

The Calgary Flames are 15-16-0 against the over/under this season

Important Vancouver Canucks Betting Trends

The Vancouver Canucks are 15-18-0 straight up this year

The Vancouver Canucks are 18-15-0 against the over/under this season

Key Calgary Flames Injuries

12/14/17 RW Jaromir Jagr Lower Body is "?" Saturday vs Nashville
12/01/17 RW Kris Versteeg Lower Body IR (11/24)

Key Vancouver Canucks Injuries

12/16/17 D Christopher Tanev Groin is out indefinitely
12/14/17 LW Sven Baertschi Facial IR (12/14)
12/07/17 C Bo Horvat Foot is out indefinitely
11/27/17 C Brandon Sutter Upper Body IR (11/25)
11/27/17 D Erik Gudbranson Upper Body IR (11/23)

Player Spotlight

Mike Smith has 13 wins and 10 losses this season in net for the Flames. He has 865 shots against him and he's given up 71 goals. He's made 794 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Sean Monahan has accumulated 30 total points this season for the Flames. He has 17 goals this year with 88 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 19%. He has a total of 13 assists on the season and averages 18.5 minutes played per game. Johnny Gaudreau averages 19.1 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by scoring 13 goals on 98 shots. He has 26 assists, giving him a total of 39 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Thomas Vanek has scored 18 total points this year for the Canucks. He has 7 goals this season with 63 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 11 assists on the season and averages 13.4 minutes played per game. Jacob Markstrom has 9 wins and 10 losses this year in goal for the Canucks. He has 667 shots against him and he's surrendered 59 goals. He's made 608 saves for a save percentage of 91%. Brock Boeser averages 16.4 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 21% by scoring 17 goals on 82 shots. He has 13 assists, giving him a total of 30 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Flames have allowed 103 power play opportunities and have given up 24 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77% this year. That is 28th in the NHL. They average 33 shots per game and as a team shoot 8.59% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is ranked 18th in the league. The Flames has 35 total points this season, ranking 18th in the NHL in offense. They are 19th in the league with 91 goals while they've given up 99 goals, which is 12th overall. They have had 109 power play opportunities and scored 20 goals on those chances for a percentage of 18%. That is 18th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Canucks are 24th with 87 goals scored while they are 11th in the NHL with 100 goals allowed this year. They average 29 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 9.00%. They give up 31 shots per game and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them in 17th place in the league. The Canucks have a total of 34 points this year, which is 21st in the NHL. They have 25 power play goals on 114 opportunities for a percentage of 22%. That ranks their power play unit 5th. They've allowed 117 power play opportunities and have given up 24 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, which is 23rd overall.

Advanced Statistics

Calgary has a Corsi percentage of 52.2% as they've tried 2,030 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,857 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 5th in Corsi percentage. They are 11th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 51.3% as they have 1,505 shots while they've given up 1,429 attempts on defense. The Flames start possessions in the offensive zone 52.7% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.3% for the year. That puts them 9th and 22nd in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 968 face-off wins as opposed to 989 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.5%. That is 15th overall in the NHL. On defense Calgary has 538 hits and they've blocked 428 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 26th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Canucks start possessions in the offensive zone 50.4% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.6% for the year. That ranks them 18th and 14th respectively in the NHL. They have 972 face-off wins as opposed to 1,022 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.7%. That is 25th in the league. On defense Vancouver has 568 hits and they've blocked 415 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 28th in blocked shots. Vancouver is ranked 26th in Corsi percentage with 48% as they've tried 1,716 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,860 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 29th in the NHL at 47.2%, as they have 1,292 shots while they've given up 1,445 attempts on defense.

Who will win tonight's Flames/Canucks NHL game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take Vancouver +145

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