Chicago Blackhawks at New Jersey Devils NHL Picks & Predictions 12/23/2017

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Prudential Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Chicago Blackhawks head to Prudential Center to take on the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, December 23, 2017.

Chicago has a record of 17-12-5 this year and away from home they have a record of 7-7-3-1. They are 5th in the Central Division. They have tallied 102 goals and surrendered 90 goals for a point differential of +12. For the year they have an ATS mark of 17-16-0 and an over/under record of 13-18-0. New Jersey has a record of 20-9-5 including 10-5-2-1 on home ice this year. They are 1st in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 109 goals and have given up 102 for a goal differential of +7. Their record against the spread is 19-14-0 while their over/under mark is 18-14-0.

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 New Jersey Devils Betting Trends

The New Jersey Devils are 19-14-0 straight up this year

The New Jersey Devils are 18-14-0 against the over/under this season

Key Chicago Blackhawks Injuries

12/22/17 D Jan Rutta Upper Body is "?" Saturday vs New Jersey
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 New Jersey Devils Injuries

12/22/17 LW Jesper Bratt Foot is "?" Saturday vs Chicago
11/15/17 D Mirco Mueller Collarbone IR (11/12)

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

Jesper Bratt has 23 total points this season for the Devils. He has 10 goals this year with 53 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 19%. He has a total of 13 assists on the year and averages 16.2 minutes played per contest. Nico Hischier averages 16.3 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 7% by scoring 5 goals on 71 attempts. He has 15 assists, giving him a total of 20 points on the year. Cory Schneider has 14 wins and 6 losses this season in net for the Devils. He has 799 shots against him and he's given up 64 goals. He's made 735 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blackhawks have 39 total points this year, which is 14th 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 Devils are 9th in the league with a total of 43 points this season. They have 21 power play goals on 103 chances for a percentage of 20%. That is 13th in the NHL. They've given up 118 power play opportunities and surrendered 20 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, ranking 9th overall. As a team, the Devils are 12th with a total of 105 goals scored while they've given up 99 goals this season, ranking 20th in goals against. They average 30 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 10.63%. As a unit they give up 33 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 13th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Chicago is 4th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 52.7%, as they've attempted 2,216 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,987 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 50.9% as they have 1,569 attempts while they have given up 1,511 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 12th in the league. The Blackhawks start possessions in the offensive zone 57.9% of the time, which is 2nd in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 42.1% for the season. That is 31st overall in the NHL. They have 1,032 face-off wins compared to 1,105 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.3%. That ranks them 26th in the league. On defense Chicago has 648 hits and they have blocked 476 shots from the opposition, putting them 26th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Devils are 30th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 46.4% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 53.6% for the season, which is 4th in the NHL. They have 1,012 face-off wins compared to 1,134 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.2%. That is 29th in the league. On defense New Jersey has 739 hits and they have blocked 506 shots from the opposition, which is 20th in the league. New Jersey is 29th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 47.2% as they've attempted 1,834 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,049 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 47.9% ranks 24th as they have 1,416 attempts while they have given up 1,543 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Chicago

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