Friday, March 31, 2017

United Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Columbus Blue Jackets travel to United Center to play the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, March 31, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Blue Jackets at +118 and the Blackhawks at -130. The over/under has been set at 5.5.

Columbus comes into this matchup having played 75 games. They have an overall record of 49-19-7 and on the road they have a record of 21-9-6. Currently they are 2nd in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 235 goals and given up 172 goals for a point differential of +63. The Blue Jackets have an overall record of 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. For the season they have an ATS record of 47-26 and an over/under record of 30-40-5. Chicago shows up with a record of 49-21-7 including 25-9-5 at home this season. They are 1st in the Central Division. They've scored 234 goals and surrendered 198 for a goal differential of +36. The Blackhawks have a record of 7-1-2 in their last 10 contests. Their record against the spread is 45-28 while their over/under record sits at 36-29-12.

For expert handicapping advice on this game check out our NHL expert handicapper tips.

Valuable Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Trends

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 47-26 straight up

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 30-40-5 against the over/under

Important Chicago Blackhawks Betting Trends

The Chicago Blackhawks are 45-28 straight up

The Chicago Blackhawks are 36-29-12 against the over/under

Key Columbus Blue Jackets Injuries

10/10/16 RW David Clarkson Back out indefinitely
03/28/17 RW Oliver Bjorkstrand Upper Body "?" Thursday vs. Carolina
03/13/17 D Ryan Murray Hand out indefinitely

Key Chicago Blackhawks Injuries

03/20/17 C Artem Anisimov Leg out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Zach Werenski has accumulated 47 total points this season for the Blue Jackets. He has 11 goals this season with 183 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 6%. He has a total of 36 assists on the season and averages 20.9 minutes played per game. Cam Atkinson has averaged 18.1 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by scoring 34 goals on 224 shots. He has 27 assists giving him a total of 61 points on the season. Sergei Bobrovsky has 41 wins and 13 losses this season in net for the Blue Jackets. He has had 1,750 shots against him and has given up 114 goals. He has made 1,636 saves for a save percentage of 94%.

Player Spotlight

Patrick Kane has accumulated 84 total points this season for the Blackhawks. He has 34 goals this season with 277 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 50 assists on the season and averages 21.5 minutes played per game. Jonathan Toews has averaged 20.3 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 11% by scoring 20 goals on 187 shots. He has 36 assists giving him a total of 56 points on the season. Corey Crawford has 31 wins and 16 losses this season in net for the Blackhawks. He has had 1,577 shots against him and has given up 127 goals. He has made 1,450 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blue Jackets have 105 total points this season. They have scored 235 goals while giving up 172 goals. They have had 199 power play opportunities and have scored 41 goals on those chances for a percentage of 21%. The Blue Jackets have allowed 203 power play opportunities and given up 35 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%. They average 31 shots per game and as a team are shooting 10.16% for the season to this point. They allow 31 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 93%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blackhawks have a total of 105 points on the season. They have 40 power play goals on 218 opportunities thus far for a percentage of 18%. They have allowed 197 power play opportunities and have given up 44 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%. As a team, the Blue Jackets have a total of 234 goals scored while they've given up 198 goals to this point. They average 31 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 9.96%. As a team they give up 31 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%.

Advanced Statistics

Columbus has a Corsi percentage of 49.2% as they've attempted 4,138 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,274 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is at 49.4% as they have 3,112 attempts while they've given up 3,193 shots on the defensive end. The Blue Jackets start possessions in the offensive zone 48.9% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 51.1% for the season. They have 2,226 face off wins compared to 2,355 losses, meaning their faceoff win percentage is 48.6%. On defense Columbus has 1,428 hits and they've blocked 1,081 shots from the opposition.

Advanced Statistics

Chicago has attempted 4,345 shots at full strength and they've given up 4,342 attempts, meaning their Corsi percentage is at 50% for the season. In terms of Fenwick percentage, they currently are at 49.5% as they have 3,139 shots while they've given up 3,202 attempts on defense. The Blackhawks have an offensive zone percentage of 52.9% and their defensive zone percentage is 47.1% so far this season. They have a faceoff win percentage of 47.9% as they've compiled 2,115 face off wins this season and they have suffered 2,301 face off losses. On defense Chicago has blocked 1,140 shot attempts and they have 1,111 hits as a unit.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Chicago -130

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