Minnesota Wild at Washington Capitals NHL Picks & Predictions 11/18/2017

Saturday, November 18, 2017

Capital One Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Minnesota Wild head to Capital One Arena to take on the Washington Capitals on Saturday, November 18, 2017. The opening line for this contest has the Wild at +122 and the Capitals at -135.

Minnesota has a record of 9-7-2 this year and away from home they have a record of 4-4-1. They are 4th in the Central Division. They have tallied 55 goals and surrendered 48 goals for a point differential of +7. For the year they have an ATS mark of 9-9-0 and an over/under record of 9-7-0. Washington has a record of 10-9-1 including 5-3-0 on home ice this year. They are 5th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 58 goals and have given up 65 for a goal differential of -7. Their record against the spread is 10-10-0 while their over/under mark is 11-9-0.

Valuable Minnesota Wild Betting Trends

The Minnesota Wild are 9-9-0 straight up this year

The Minnesota Wild are 9-7-0 against the over/under this season

Important Washington Capitals Betting Trends

The Washington Capitals are 10-10-0 straight up this year

The Washington Capitals are 11-9-0 against the over/under this season

Key Minnesota Wild Injuries

10/24/17 LW Zach Parise Back is out indefinitely
10/13/17 C Charlie Coyle Fibula IR (10/12)

Key Washington Capitals Injuries

11/17/17 D Christian Djoos Upper Body is "?" Saturday vs. Minnesota
10/27/17 C Tyler Graovac Upper Body IR (10/18)
10/24/17 LW Andre Burakovsky Upper Body IR (10/21)

Player Spotlight

Eric Staal has scored 17 total points this year for the Wild. He has 7 goals this season with 51 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 10 assists on the year and averages 18.5 minutes played per contest. Jason Zucker averages 17.9 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 22% by tallying 11 goals on 49 attempts. He has 5 assists, giving him a total of 16 points on the year. Devan Dubnyk has 8 wins and 6 losses this season in goal for the Wild. He has 462 shots against him and he's surrendered 36 goals. He's made 426 stops for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Nicklas Backstrom has 14 total points this season for the Capitals. He has 3 goals this year with 32 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 9%. He has a total of 11 assists on the year and averages 19.8 minutes played per contest. Alex Ovechkin averages 19.1 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 13 goals on 92 attempts. He has 6 assists, giving him a total of 19 points on the year. Braden Holtby has 10 wins and 4 losses this season in net for the Capitals. He has 438 shots against him and he's given up 36 goals. He's made 402 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Wild have 20 total points this year, which is 17th in the NHL. They've scored 55 goals while giving up 48 scores, which has them ranked 18th and 28th respectively. They have had 57 power play chances and scored 10 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 18%. That is 19th in the league. The Wild have given up 63 power play opportunities and surrendered 9 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 86%, ranking them 3rd when short-handed. They average 30 shots per contest and as a team shoot 10.32% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 92%, which is 8th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Capitals are 13th in the league with a total of 21 points this season. They have 13 power play goals on 67 chances for a percentage of 19%. That is 15th in the NHL. They've given up 81 power play opportunities and surrendered 18 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, ranking 27th overall. As a team, the Capitals are 15th with a total of 58 goals scored while they've given up 65 goals this season, ranking 7th in goals against. They average 29 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 10.14%. As a unit they give up 33 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 23rd overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Minnesota has a Corsi percentage of 47.5% as they've tried 956 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,058 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 27th in Corsi percentage. They are 20th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 48.5% as they have 734 shots while they've given up 778 attempts on defense. The Wild start possessions in the offensive zone 49.3% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.7% for the year. That puts them 21st and 10th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 552 face-off wins as opposed to 561 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.6%. That is 19th overall in the NHL. On defense Minnesota has 343 hits and they've blocked 280 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 9th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Capitals start possessions in the offensive zone 49.9% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.1% for the year. That ranks them 19th and 15th respectively in the NHL. They have 637 face-off wins as opposed to 604 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.3%. That is 15th in the league. On defense Washington has 429 hits and they've blocked 277 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 12th in blocked shots. Washington is ranked 28th in Corsi percentage with 47.4% as they've tried 1,075 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,191 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 29th in the NHL at 46.2%, as they have 786 shots while they've given up 914 attempts on defense.

Who will win tonight's Wild/Capitals NHL game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take Minnesota +122

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