Colorado Avalanche at Florida Panthers NHL Picks & Predictions 12/9/2017

Saturday, December 9, 2017

BB&T Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Colorado Avalanche travel to BB&T Center to play the Florida Panthers on Saturday, December 9, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Avalanche at +127 and the Panthers at -140.

Colorado has a record of 12-13-2 this season and on the road they have a record of 4-8-1. They are 7th in the Central Division. They've scored 83 goals and given up 91 goals for a point differential of -8. For the season they have an ATS record of 12-15-0 and an over/under record of 17-10-0. Florida is 11-13-4 including 6-5-3 at home this season. They are 6th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 85 goals and surrendered 97 for a goal differential of -12. Their record against the spread is 11-17-0 while their over/under record is 15-13-0.

Valuable Colorado Avalanche Betting Trends

The Colorado Avalanche are 12-15-0 straight up this year

The Colorado Avalanche are 17-10-0 against the over/under this season

Important Florida Panthers Betting Trends

The Florida Panthers are 11-17-0 straight up this year

The Florida Panthers are 15-13-0 against the over/under this season

Key Colorado Avalanche Injuries

11/19/17 C Vladislav Kamenev Arm IR (11/16)

Key Florida Panthers Injuries

12/08/17 C Aleksander Barkov Upper Body left last game, is "?" Saturday vs Colorado
12/06/17 GO Roberto Luongo Leg is out indefinitely
11/26/17 RW Evgenii Dadonov Shoulder IR (11/25)

Player Spotlight

Nathan MacKinnon has accumulated 32 total points this season for the Avalanche. He has 10 goals this year with 81 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 22 assists on the season and averages 19.6 minutes played per game. Mikko Rantanen averages 18.8 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 8 goals on 57 shots. He has 14 assists, giving him a total of 22 points on the season. Semyon Varlamov has 8 wins and 7 losses this season in net for the Avalanche. He has 538 shots against him and he's given up 52 goals. He's made 486 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Player Spotlight

Jonathan Huberdeau has scored 29 total points this year for the Panthers. He has 8 goals this season with 83 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 21 assists on the season and averages 20.2 minutes played per game. Vincent Trocheck averages 21.4 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by scoring 12 goals on 94 shots. He has 17 assists, giving him a total of 29 points on the season. James Reimer has 5 wins and 6 losses this year in goal for the Panthers. He has 446 shots against him and he's surrendered 48 goals. He's made 398 saves for a save percentage of 89%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Avalanche have 26 total points this season, which ranks them 26th in the NHL. They are 17th in the league in goals scored with 83 while they've given up 91 goals, ranking them 10th overall. They have had 113 power play opportunities and have scored 22 goals on those chances for a percentage of 19%. That is 15th in the NHL. The Avalanche have allowed 106 power play opportunities and have given up 22 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, putting them 20th in the league when short-handed. They average 30 shots per game and as a team shoot 10.41% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 89%. That puts them 27th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Panthers are 27th in the NHL with a total of 26 points this year. They have 17 power play goals on 94 opportunities for a percentage of 18%. That ranks them 20th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 91 power play opportunities and have given up 22 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 76%. That is 28th in the NHL. As a team, the Panthers are 13th in the league with 85 goals scored while they've given up 97 goals, which is 3rd overall. They average 35 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 8.66%. As a team they give up 36 shots per game and have a save percentage of 91%. That is 18th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Colorado has a Corsi percentage of 47.8% as they've tried 1,468 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,602 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 25th in Corsi percentage. They are 24th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 47.5% as they have 1,088 shots while they've given up 1,201 attempts on defense. The Avalanche start possessions in the offensive zone 49.4% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.6% for the year. That puts them 20th and 9th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 729 face-off wins as opposed to 946 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 43.5%. That is 31st overall in the NHL. On defense Colorado has 490 hits and they've blocked 401 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 20th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Panthers start possessions in the offensive zone 47.6% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 52.4% for the year. That ranks them 26th and 6th respectively in the NHL. They have 925 face-off wins as opposed to 877 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.3%. That is 12th in the league. On defense Florida has 552 hits and they've blocked 388 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 25th in blocked shots. Florida is ranked 20th in Corsi percentage with 49.1% as they've tried 1,652 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,714 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 15th in the NHL at 49.8%, as they have 1,313 shots while they've given up 1,326 attempts on defense.

Who will win tonight's Avalanche/Panthers NHL game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take Florida -140

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