New York Islanders at Colorado Avalanche NHL Picks & Predictions 12/31/2017

Sunday, December 31, 2017

Pepsi Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The New York Islanders head to Pepsi Center to take on the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday, December 31, 2017. The opening line for this contest has the Islanders at -110 and the Avalanche at +100.

New York has a record of 20-14-4 this year and away from home they have a record of 8-11-1-0. They are 5th in the Metropolitan Division. They have tallied 135 goals and surrendered 133 goals for a point differential of +2. For the year they have an ATS mark of 20-17-0 and an over/under record of 25-11-0. Colorado has a record of 18-16-3 including 11-7-1-0 on home ice this year. They are 7th in the Central Division. They've scored 117 goals and have given up 119 for a goal differential of -2. Their record against the spread is 17-19-0 while their over/under mark is 21-14-0.

Valuable New York Islanders Betting Trends

The New York Islanders are 20-17-0 straight up this year

The New York Islanders are 25-11-0 against the over/under this season

Important Colorado Avalanche Betting Trends

The Colorado Avalanche are 17-19-0 straight up this year

The Colorado Avalanche are 21-14-0 against the over/under this season

Key New York Islanders Injuries

12/28/17 D Johnny Boychuk Lower Body IR (12/28)
12/18/17 D Calvin de Haan Shoulder IR (12/16)
11/08/17 LW Nikolay Kulemin Upper Body IR (11/06)

Key Colorado Avalanche Injuries

12/27/17 D Tyson Barrie Hand is out indefinitely
12/18/17 D Sergei Boikov Shoulder is out indefinitely
11/19/17 C Vladislav Kamenev Arm IR (11/16)

Player Spotlight

Josh Bailey has scored 49 total points this year for the Islanders. He has 11 goals this season with 65 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 17%. He has a total of 38 assists on the year and averages 18.1 minutes played per contest. Anders Lee averages 17.1 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 26% by tallying 24 goals on 94 attempts. He has 15 assists, giving him a total of 39 points on the year. Jaroslav Halak has 11 wins and 9 losses this season in goal for the Islanders. He has 702 shots against him and he's surrendered 65 goals. He's made 637 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Mikko Rantanen has 33 total points this season for the Avalanche. He has 12 goals this year with 84 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 21 assists on the year and averages 18.8 minutes played per contest. Nathan MacKinnon averages 19.6 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 16 goals on 118 attempts. He has 27 assists, giving him a total of 43 points on the year. Semyon Varlamov has 13 wins and 9 losses this season in net for the Avalanche. He has 793 shots against him and he's given up 72 goals. He's made 721 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Islanders have 44 total points this year, which is 14th in the NHL. They've scored 135 goals while giving up 133 scores, which has them ranked 2nd and 2nd respectively. They have had 129 power play chances and scored 28 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 22%. That is 7th in the league. The Islanders have given up 115 power play opportunities and surrendered 29 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 75%, ranking them 30th when short-handed. They average 31 shots per contest and as a team shoot 11.33% for the year. They allow 33 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 29th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Avalanche are 23rd in the league with a total of 39 points this season. They have 29 power play goals on 152 chances for a percentage of 19%. That is 16th in the NHL. They've given up 135 power play opportunities and surrendered 22 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 84%, ranking 7th overall. As a team, the Avalanche are 10th with a total of 117 goals scored while they've given up 119 goals this season, ranking 10th in goals against. They average 30 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 10.67%. As a unit they give up 32 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 24th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

New York is 20th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.9%, as they've attempted 2,184 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,282 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 48.6% as they have 1,619 attempts while they have given up 1,711 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 21st in the league. The Islanders start possessions in the offensive zone 48.9% of the time, which is 25th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 51.1% for the season. That is 9th overall in the NHL. They have 1,104 face-off wins compared to 1,185 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.2%. That ranks them 26th in the league. On defense New York has 808 hits and they have blocked 571 shots from the opposition, putting them 12th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Avalanche are 18th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 49.6% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 50.4% for the season, which is 10th in the NHL. They have 1,010 face-off wins compared to 1,238 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 44.9%. That is 31st in the league. On defense Colorado has 643 hits and they have blocked 564 shots from the opposition, which is 16th in the league. Colorado is 25th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 47.9% as they've attempted 2,027 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,201 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 47.8% ranks 24th as they have 1,501 attempts while they have given up 1,637 shots on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's Islanders/Avalanche NHL game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take New York -110

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