Montreal Canadiens at Minnesota Wild NHL Picks & Predictions 11/2/2017

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Xcel Energy Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Montreal Canadiens head to Xcel Energy Center to take on the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, November 2, 2017. The opening line for this contest has the Canadiens at +127 and the Wild at -140.

Montreal has a record of 4-7-1 this year and away from home they have a record of 2-5-0. They are 7th in the Atlantic Division. They have tallied 31 goals and surrendered 45 goals for a point differential of -14. For the year they have an ATS mark of 4-8-0 and an over/under record of 8-3-0. Minnesota has a record of 4-4-2 including 2-2-1 on home ice this year. They are 7th in the Central Division. They've scored 31 goals and have given up 30 for a goal differential of +1. Their record against the spread is 4-5-0 while their over/under mark is 6-2-0.

Valuable Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends

The Montreal Canadiens are 4-8-0 straight up this year

The Montreal Canadiens are 8-3-0 against the over/under this season

Important Minnesota Wild Betting Trends

The Minnesota Wild are 4-5-0 straight up this year

The Minnesota Wild are 6-2-0 against the over/under this season

Key Montreal Canadiens Injuries

10/30/17 LW Nikita Scherbak Lower Body is out indefinitely
10/24/17 D David Schlemko Hand IR (10/24)
10/22/17 RW Ales Hemsky Upper Body IR (10/22)

Key Minnesota Wild Injuries

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

Player Spotlight

Brendan Gallagher has scored 8 total points this year for the Canadiens. He has 4 goals this season with 37 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 4 assists on the year and averages 14.7 minutes played per contest. Jonathan Drouin averages 18.7 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 6% by tallying 2 goals on 36 attempts. He has 7 assists, giving him a total of 9 points on the year. Carey Price has 3 wins and 6 losses this season in goal for the Canadiens. He has 291 shots against him and he's surrendered 34 goals. He's made 257 stops for a save percentage of 88%.

Player Spotlight

Chris Stewart has 8 total points this season for the Wild. He has 6 goals this year with 21 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 29%. He has a total of 2 assists on the year and averages 13.6 minutes played per contest. Eric Staal averages 18.4 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by scoring 4 goals on 30 attempts. He has 4 assists, giving him a total of 8 points on the year. Devan Dubnyk has 3 wins and 3 losses this season in net for the Wild. He has 222 shots against him and he's given up 21 goals. He's made 201 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canadiens have 9 total points this year, which is 28th in the NHL. They've scored 31 goals while giving up 45 scores, which has them ranked 23rd and 4th respectively. They have had 51 power play chances and scored 7 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 14%. That is 25th in the league. The Canadiens have given up 42 power play opportunities and surrendered 10 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 76%, ranking them 28th when short-handed. They average 38 shots per contest and as a team shoot 6.80% for the year. They allow 31 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 88%, which is 30th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Wild are 25th in the league with a total of 10 points this season. They have 6 power play goals on 34 chances for a percentage of 18%. That is 13th in the NHL. They've given up 41 power play opportunities and surrendered 8 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking 15th overall. As a team, the Wild are 22nd with a total of 31 goals scored while they've given up 30 goals this season, ranking 27th in goals against. They average 30 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 10.33%. As a unit they give up 32 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 14th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Montreal is 3rd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 54.8%, as they've attempted 817 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 674 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 55.1% as they have 610 attempts while they have given up 498 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 2nd in the league. The Canadiens start possessions in the offensive zone 55.4% of the time, which is 4th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 44.6% for the season. That is 26th overall in the NHL. They have 370 face-off wins compared to 417 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47%. That ranks them 27th in the league. On defense Montreal has 295 hits and they have blocked 176 shots from the opposition, putting them 9th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Wild start possessions in the offensive zone 51.8% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 48.2% for the year. That ranks them 14th and 21st respectively in the NHL. They have 322 face-off wins as opposed to 297 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52%. That is 10th in the league. On defense Minnesota has 177 hits and they've blocked 149 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 26th in blocked shots. Minnesota is ranked 25th in Corsi percentage with 47.5% as they've tried 528 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 583 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 25th in the NHL at 48.4%, as they have 407 shots while they've given up 434 attempts on defense.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Montreal +127

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