Colorado Avalanche at New York Rangers NHL Picks & Predictions 10/5/2017

Thursday, October 5, 2017

Madison Square Garden

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Colorado Avalanche travel to Madison Square Garden to play the New York Rangers on Thursday, October 5, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Avalanche at +300 and the Rangers at -129.

Colorado had a record of 22-56-4 last season and on the road they had a record of 9-30-2. They finished 7th in the Central Division. They scored 166 goals and gave up 278 goals for a point differential of -112. For the season they had an ATS record of 22-60-0 and an over/under record of 36-36-0. New York finished with a record of 48-28-6 including 21-16-4 at home last season. They were 4th in the Metropolitan Division. They scored 256 goals and surrendered 220 for a goal differential of +36. Their record against the spread was 54-40-0 while their over/under record was 44-34-0.

Valuable Colorado Avalanche Betting Trends

The Colorado Avalanche were 22-60-0 straight up last year

The Colorado Avalanche were 36-36-0 against the over/under last season

Important New York Rangers Betting Trends

The New York Rangers were 54-40-0 straight up last year

The New York Rangers were 44-34-0 against the over/under last season

Key Colorado Avalanche Injuries

10/02/17 G Jonathan Bernier Groin out indefinitely
10/02/17 C Joe Colborne Back "?" Thursday vs. NY Rangers
10/02/17 LW A.J. Greer Concussion "?" Thursday vs. NY Rangers
10/02/17 D Sergei Boikov Shoulder out indefinitely

Key New York Rangers Injuries

10/02/17 D Dan Girardi Hip out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Semyon Varlamov had 6 wins and 17 losses last season in net for the Avalanche. He had 745 shots against him and he gave up 76 goals. He made 669 saves for a save percentage of 90%. Nathan MacKinnon accumulated 51 total points last season for the Avalanche. He had 16 goals last year with 247 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 7%. He had a total of 35 assists on the season and averaged 19.9 minutes played per game. Matt Duchene averaged 18.3 minutes of ice time per game last year. In that time he had a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 18 goals on 156 shots. He had 23 assists giving him a total of 41 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Mats Zuccarello scored 59 total points last year for the Rangers. He had 15 goals last season with 188 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 8%. He had a total of 44 assists on the season and averaged 18.8 minutes played per game. Henrik Lundqvist had 31 wins and 20 losses last year in goal for the Rangers. He had 1,650 shots against him and he surrendered 148 goals. He made 1,502 saves for a save percentage of 91%. Kevin Shattenkirk averaged 19.9 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he had a shooting percentage of 8% by scoring 12 goals on 156 shots. He had 43 assists giving him a total of 55 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Avalanche allowed 274 power play opportunities and gave up 64 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77% last year. That was 29th in the NHL. They averaged 28 shots per game and as a team shot 7.21% for the season. They allowed 32 shots to their opposition per contest and had a team save percentage of 89%, which was ranked 29th in the league. The Avalanche had 48 total points last season, ranking 30th in the NHL in offense. They were 30th in the league with 166 goals while giving up 278 goals, which was 1st overall. They had 239 power play opportunities and scored 30 goals on those chances for a percentage of 13%. That was 30th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Rangers were 4th with 256 goals scored while they were 18th in the NHL with 220 goals allowed last year. They averaged 30 shots per contest and had a team shooting percentage of 10.50%. They gave up 30 shots per game and had a save percentage of 91%, putting them in 11th place in the league. The Rangers had a total of 102 points last year, which was 9th in the NHL. They had 47 power play goals on 232 opportunities for a percentage of 20%. That ranked their power play unit 10th. They allowed 224 power play opportunities and gave up 45 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, which was 19th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Colorado was 21st in the NHL in Corsi percentage last year with 48.6%, as they attempted 4,335 shots on net at full strength while they gave up 4,585 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage was 47.8% as they had 3,208 attempts while they gave up 3,509 shots on the defensive end. That ranked them 24th in the league. The Avalanche started possessions in the offensive zone 49.4% of the time, which was 23rd in the league, while their defensive zone percentage was at 50.6% for the season. That was 6th overall in the NHL. They had 2,631 face-off wins compared to 2,276 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage was 53.6%. That ranked them 2nd in the league. On defense Colorado had 1,687 hits and they blocked 1,076 shots from the opposition, putting them 24th overall.

Advanced Statistics

New York was 23rd in the NHL in Corsi percentage last year with 49.1%, as they attempted 4,512 shots on net at full strength while they gave up 4,684 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage was 50% as they had 3,438 attempts while they gave up 3,440 shots on the defensive end. That ranked them 18th in the league. The Rangers started possessions in the offensive zone 50.4% of the time, which was 18th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage was at 49.6% for the season. That was 13th overall in the NHL. They had 2,353 face-off wins compared to 2,511 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage was 48.4%. That ranked them 26th in the league. On defense New York had 1,715 hits and they blocked 1,244 shots from the opposition, putting them 8th overall.

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

Josh's Pick: Take New York -129

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