Chicago Blackhawks at Dallas Stars NHL Picks & Predictions 12/21/2017

Thursday, December 21, 2017

American Airlines Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Chicago Blackhawks head to American Airlines Center to take on the Dallas Stars on Thursday, December 21, 2017. The opening line for this contest has the Blackhawks at +104 and the Stars at -115.

Chicago has a record of 17-11-5 this year and away from home they have a record of 7-6-3. They are 4th in the Central Division. They have tallied 102 goals and surrendered 86 goals for a point differential of +16. For the year they have an ATS mark of 17-16-0 and an over/under record of 13-18-0. Dallas has a record of 18-14-3 including 10-4-1 on home ice this year. They are 6th in the Central Division. They've scored 102 goals and have given up 103 for a goal differential of -1. Their record against the spread is 18-17-0 while their over/under mark is 19-15-0.

Valuable Chicago Blackhawks Betting Trends

The Chicago Blackhawks are 17-16-0 straight up this year

The Chicago Blackhawks are 13-18-0 against the over/under this season

Important Dallas Stars Betting Trends

The Dallas Stars are 18-17-0 straight up this year

The Dallas Stars are 19-15-0 against the over/under this season

Key Chicago Blackhawks Injuries

12/17/17 D Jan Rutta Upper Body is "?" Thursday vs Dallas
12/13/17 D Cody Franson Upper Body IR (12/08)
10/05/17 RW Marian Hossa Infection IR (10/03)
10/05/15 D Michal Rozsival Upper Body IR (10/03)

Key Dallas Stars Injuries

11/12/17 D Marc Methot Knee IR (11/08)

Player Spotlight

Patrick Kane has scored 34 total points this year for the Blackhawks. He has 14 goals this season with 113 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 20 assists on the year and averages 19.9 minutes played per contest. Jonathan Toews averages 20 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by tallying 9 goals on 93 attempts. He has 13 assists, giving him a total of 22 points on the year. Corey Crawford has 16 wins and 7 losses this season in goal for the Blackhawks. He has 813 shots against him and he's surrendered 53 goals. He's made 760 stops for a save percentage of 94%.

Player Spotlight

Jamie Benn has 30 total points this season for the Stars. He has 14 goals this year with 109 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He has a total of 16 assists on the year and averages 19.6 minutes played per contest. Tyler Seguin averages 20.3 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 9% by scoring 14 goals on 149 attempts. He has 15 assists, giving him a total of 29 points on the year. Ben Bishop has 13 wins and 9 losses this season in net for the Stars. He has 726 shots against him and he's given up 67 goals. He's made 659 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blackhawks have 39 total points this year, which is 13th in the NHL. They've scored 102 goals while giving up 86 scores, which has them ranked 13th and 28th respectively. They have had 134 power play chances and scored 19 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 14%. That is 28th in the league. The Blackhawks have given up 110 power play opportunities and surrendered 18 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 84%, ranking them 3rd when short-handed. They average 35 shots per contest and as a team shoot 8.86% for the year. They allow 33 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 92%, which is 2nd in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Stars are 14th in the league with a total of 39 points this season. They have 20 power play goals on 105 chances for a percentage of 19%. That is 17th in the NHL. They've given up 126 power play opportunities and surrendered 24 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, ranking 16th overall. As a team, the Stars are 14th with a total of 102 goals scored while they've given up 103 goals this season, ranking 14th in goals against. They average 32 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 9.03%. As a unit they give up 30 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 20th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Chicago is 4th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 52.6%, as they've attempted 2,141 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,933 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 50.8% as they have 1,523 attempts while they have given up 1,476 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 12th in the league. The Blackhawks start possessions in the offensive zone 57.6% of the time, which is 2nd in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 42.4% for the season. That is 31st overall in the NHL. They have 1,009 face-off wins compared to 1,068 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.6%. That ranks them 21st in the league. On defense Chicago has 629 hits and they have blocked 457 shots from the opposition, putting them 26th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Stars start possessions in the offensive zone 49.3% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.7% for the year. That ranks them 22nd and 8th respectively in the NHL. They have 1,155 face-off wins as opposed to 1,071 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.9%. That is 6th in the league. On defense Dallas has 720 hits and they've blocked 486 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 23rd in blocked shots. Dallas is ranked 8th in Corsi percentage with 52% as they've tried 2,047 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,886 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 9th in the NHL at 51.9%, as they have 1,512 shots while they've given up 1,400 attempts on defense.

Who will win tonight's Blackhawks/Stars NHL game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take Chicago +104

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