Thursday, March 23, 2017

Bell Centre

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The Carolina Hurricanes travel to Bell Centre to play the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, March 23, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Hurricanes at +166 and the Canadiens at -185. The over/under has been set at 5.

Carolina comes into this matchup having played 71 games. They have an overall record of 31-27-13 and on the road they have a record of 10-17-9. Currently they are 6th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 186 goals and given up 206 goals for a point differential of -20. The Hurricanes have an overall record of 6-1-3 in their last 10 games. For the season they have an ATS record of 29-40 and an over/under record of 30-32-9. Montreal shows up with a record of 41-23-9 including 21-10-5 at home this season. They are 1st in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 200 goals and surrendered 182 for a goal differential of +18. The Canadiens have a record of 7-2-1 in their last 10 contests. Their record against the spread is 38-32 while their over/under record sits at 27-32-14.

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Valuable Carolina Hurricanes Betting Trends

The Carolina Hurricanes are 29-40 straight up

The Carolina Hurricanes are 30-32-9 against the over/under

Important Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends

The Montreal Canadiens are 38-32 straight up

The Montreal Canadiens are 27-32-14 against the over/under

Key Carolina Hurricanes Injuries

11/11/16 LW Bryan Bickell Illness out indefinitely
03/20/17 C Jay McClement Lower Body out indefinitely
03/13/17 RW Valentin Zykov Upper Body out indefinitely
03/13/17 LW Brock McGinn Upper Body out indefinitely

Key Montreal Canadiens Injuries

03/19/17 D Nikita Nesterov Undisclosed "?" Thursday vs. Carolina
03/19/17 C Brian Flynn Upper Body "?" Thursday vs. Carolina

Player Spotlight

Victor Rask has accumulated 42 total points this season for the Hurricanes. He has 16 goals this season with 162 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 26 assists on the season and averages 17.5 minutes played per game. Jeff Skinner has averaged 17.7 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 28 goals on 233 shots. He has 23 assists giving him a total of 51 points on the season. Cam Ward has 24 wins and 20 losses this season in net for the Hurricanes. He has had 1,569 shots against him and has given up 150 goals. He has made 1,419 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Player Spotlight

Alexander Radulov has accumulated 48 total points this season for the Canadiens. He has 15 goals this season with 131 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 33 assists on the season and averages 18.3 minutes played per game. Max Pacioretty has averaged 19.2 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 33 goals on 245 shots. He has 27 assists giving him a total of 60 points on the season. Carey Price has 33 wins and 17 losses this season in net for the Canadiens. He has had 1,607 shots against him and has given up 124 goals. He has made 1,483 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Hurricanes have 75 total points this season. They have scored 186 goals while giving up 206 goals. They have had 201 power play opportunities and have scored 36 goals on those chances for a percentage of 18%. The Hurricanes have allowed 181 power play opportunities and given up 27 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 85%. They average 30 shots per game and as a team are shooting 8.67% for the season to this point. They allow 28 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canadiens have a total of 91 points on the season. They have 42 power play goals on 213 opportunities thus far for a percentage of 20%. They have allowed 234 power play opportunities and have given up 46 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%. As a team, the Hurricanes have a total of 200 goals scored while they've given up 182 goals to this point. They average 30 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 9.15%. As a team they give up 30 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%.

Advanced Statistics

Carolina has a Corsi percentage of 52.1% as they've attempted 4,129 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,791 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is at 51.5% as they have 3,035 attempts while they've given up 2,853 shots on the defensive end. The Hurricanes start possessions in the offensive zone 56.6% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 43.4% for the season. They have 2,088 face off wins compared to 1,883 losses, meaning their faceoff win percentage is 52.6%. On defense has 1,337 hits and they've blocked 938 shots from the opposition.

Advanced Statistics

Montreal has attempted 4,211 shots at full strength and they've given up 4,027 attempts, meaning their Corsi percentage is at 51.1% for the season. In terms of Fenwick percentage, they currently are at 51% as they have 3,054 shots while they've given up 2,931 attempts on defense. The Canadiens have an offensive zone percentage of 48.7% and their defensive zone percentage is 51.3% so far this season. They have a faceoff win percentage of 50% as they've compiled 2,246 face off wins this season and they have suffered 2,244 face off losses. On defense has blocked 1,096 shot attempts and they have 1,620 hits as a unit.

Who will win tonight's Hurricanes/Canadiens NHL game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take Carolina +166

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