Montreal Canadiens at Carolina Hurricanes NHL Picks & Predictions 12/27/2017

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

PNC Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Montreal Canadiens head to PNC Arena to take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday, December 27, 2017. The opening line for this contest has the Canadiens at +105 and the Hurricanes at -135.

Montreal has a record of 16-16-4 this year and away from home they have a record of 7-9-1-1. They are 4th in the Atlantic Division. They have tallied 98 goals and surrendered 114 goals for a point differential of -16. For the year they have an ATS mark of 16-20-0 and an over/under record of 16-18-0. Carolina has a record of 16-12-7 including 8-4-3-1 on home ice this year. They are 6th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 99 goals and have given up 109 for a goal differential of -10. Their record against the spread is 16-19-0 while their over/under mark is 17-16-0.

Valuable Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends

The Montreal Canadiens are 16-20-0 straight up this year

The Montreal Canadiens are 16-18-0 against the over/under this season

Important Carolina Hurricanes Betting Trends

The Carolina Hurricanes are 16-19-0 straight up this year

The Carolina Hurricanes are 17-16-0 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 Carolina Hurricanes Injuries

11/13/17 RW Lee Stempniak Hip IR (10/02)

Player Spotlight

Brendan Gallagher has scored 20 total points this year for the Canadiens. He has 14 goals this season with 115 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 6 assists on the year and averages 15.4 minutes played per contest. Max Pacioretty averages 19.3 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 6% by tallying 8 goals on 140 attempts. He has 12 assists, giving him a total of 20 points on the year. Carey Price has 11 wins and 10 losses this season in goal for the Canadiens. He has 685 shots against him and he's surrendered 66 goals. He's made 619 stops for a save percentage of 90%.

Player Spotlight

Sebastian Aho has 25 total points this season for the Hurricanes. He has 8 goals this year with 99 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 8%. He has a total of 17 assists on the year and averages 18.3 minutes played per contest. Teuvo Teravainen averages 16.6 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 11% by scoring 8 goals on 72 attempts. He has 20 assists, giving him a total of 28 points on the year. Scott Darling has 8 wins and 10 losses this season in net for the Hurricanes. He has 655 shots against him and he's given up 68 goals. He's made 587 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canadiens have 36 total points this year, which is 25th in the NHL. They've scored 98 goals while giving up 114 scores, which has them ranked 25th and 7th respectively. They have had 110 power play chances and scored 21 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 19%. That is 19th in the league. The Canadiens have given up 118 power play opportunities and surrendered 27 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%, ranking them 28th when short-handed. They average 34 shots per contest and as a team shoot 8.04% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 21st in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Hurricanes are 18th in the league with a total of 39 points this season. They have 18 power play goals on 116 chances for a percentage of 16%. That is 27th in the NHL. They've given up 88 power play opportunities and surrendered 20 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%, ranking 26th overall. As a team, the Hurricanes are 23rd with a total of 99 goals scored while they've given up 109 goals this season, ranking 12th in goals against. They average 35 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.13%. As a unit they give up 29 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 27th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Montreal is 12th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.8%, as they've attempted 2,242 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,173 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 51% as they have 1,643 attempts while they have given up 1,579 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 13th in the league. The Canadiens start possessions in the offensive zone 52.5% of the time, which is 10th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.5% for the season. That is 22nd overall in the NHL. They have 1,116 face-off wins compared to 1,160 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49%. That ranks them 23rd in the league. On defense Montreal has 890 hits and they have blocked 594 shots from the opposition, putting them 1st overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Hurricanes are 1st in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 58.6% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 41.4% for the season, which is 31st in the NHL. They have 1,095 face-off wins compared to 976 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52.9%. That is 1st in the league. On defense Carolina has 651 hits and they have blocked 462 shots from the opposition, which is 30th in the league. Carolina is 1st in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 54.3% as they've attempted 2,297 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,930 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 53.7% ranks 1st as they have 1,703 attempts while they have given up 1,468 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Montreal +105

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