Montreal Canadiens at Calgary Flames NHL Picks & Predictions 12/22/2017

Friday, December 22, 2017

Scotiabank Saddledome

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Montreal Canadiens travel to Scotiabank Saddledome to play the Calgary Flames on Friday, December 22, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Canadiens at +118 and the Flames at -130.

Montreal has a record of 15-15-4 this season and on the road they have a record of 6-8-1-1. They are 4th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 94 goals and given up 108 goals for a point differential of -14. For the season they have an ATS record of 15-19-0 and an over/under record of 16-16-0. Calgary has a record of 18-14-3 including 9-10-0-0 at home this season. They are 3rd in the Pacific Division. They've scored 99 goals and surrendered 103 for a goal differential of -4. Their record against the spread is 18-17-0 while their over/under record is 16-18-0.

Valuable Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends

The Montreal Canadiens are 15-19-0 straight up this year

The Montreal Canadiens are 16-16-0 against the over/under this season

Important Calgary Flames Betting Trends

The Calgary Flames are 18-17-0 straight up this year

The Calgary Flames are 16-18-0 against the over/under this season

Key Montreal Canadiens Injuries

12/18/17 D Shea Weber Foot is out indefinitely
11/15/17 LW Artturi Lehkonen Lower Body IR (11/13)
11/12/17 GO Al Montoya Concussion IR (11/09)
10/22/17 RW Ales Hemsky Upper Body IR (10/20)

Key Calgary Flames Injuries

12/21/17 RW Jaromir Jagr Lower Body is "?" Friday vs Montreal
12/01/17 RW Kris Versteeg Lower Body IR (11/24)

Player Spotlight

Carey Price has 10 wins and 10 losses this season in net for the Canadiens. He has 662 shots against him and he's given up 64 goals. He's made 598 saves for a save percentage of 90%. Brendan Gallagher has accumulated 19 total points this season for the Canadiens. He has 13 goals this year with 105 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 6 assists on the season and averages 15.4 minutes played per game. Max Pacioretty averages 19.3 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 6% by scoring 8 goals on 137 shots. He has 12 assists, giving him a total of 20 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Sean Monahan has scored 31 total points this year for the Flames. He has 17 goals this season with 94 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 18%. He has a total of 14 assists on the season and averages 18.5 minutes played per game. Mike Smith has 14 wins and 11 losses this year in goal for the Flames. He has 915 shots against him and he's surrendered 74 goals. He's made 841 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Johnny Gaudreau averages 19.1 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 13 goals on 105 shots. He has 27 assists, giving him a total of 40 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canadiens have allowed 112 power play opportunities and have given up 25 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78% this year. That is 25th in the NHL. They average 34 shots per game and as a team shoot 8.15% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is ranked 21st in the league. The Canadiens has 34 total points this season, ranking 24th in the NHL in offense. They are 24th in the league with 94 goals while they've given up 108 goals, which is 11th overall. They have had 107 power play opportunities and scored 20 goals on those chances for a percentage of 19%. That is 18th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Flames are 19th with 99 goals scored while they are 14th in the NHL with 103 goals allowed this year. They average 33 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 8.52%. They give up 31 shots per game and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them in 17th place in the league. The Flames have a total of 39 points this year, which is 13th in the NHL. They have 21 power play goals on 123 opportunities for a percentage of 17%. That ranks their power play unit 22nd. They've allowed 115 power play opportunities and have given up 26 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%, which is 26th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Montreal has a Corsi percentage of 51% as they've tried 2,125 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,038 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 12th in Corsi percentage. They are 13th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 51.2% as they have 1,554 shots while they've given up 1,481 attempts on defense. The Canadiens start possessions in the offensive zone 52.5% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.5% for the year. That puts them 10th and 21st in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,047 face-off wins as opposed to 1,102 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.7%. That is 23rd overall in the NHL. On defense Montreal has 851 hits and they've blocked 557 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 1st in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Flames are 9th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 52.7% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 47.3% for the season, which is 23rd in the NHL. They have 1,063 face-off wins compared to 1,076 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.7%. That is 15th in the league. On defense Calgary has 580 hits and they have blocked 477 shots from the opposition, which is 25th in the league. Calgary is 3rd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 52.6% as they've attempted 2,236 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,013 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 51.9% ranks 8th as they have 1,655 attempts while they have given up 1,536 shots on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's Canadiens/Flames NHL game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take Calgary -130

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