New York Rangers at Washington Capitals NHL Picks & Predictions 12/8/2017

Friday, December 8, 2017

Capital One Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The New York Rangers head to Capital One Arena to take on the Washington Capitals on Friday, December 8, 2017. The opening line for this contest has the Rangers at +166 and the Capitals at -185.

New York has a record of 15-10-2 this year and away from home they have a record of 4-5-0. They are 6th in the Metropolitan Division. They have tallied 91 goals and surrendered 81 goals for a point differential of +10. For the year they have an ATS mark of 15-12-0 and an over/under record of 16-9-0. Washington has a record of 17-11-1 including 11-5-0 on home ice this year. They are 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 90 goals and have given up 86 for a goal differential of +4. Their record against the spread is 17-12-0 while their over/under mark is 16-13-0.

Valuable New York Rangers Betting Trends

The New York Rangers are 15-12-0 straight up this year

The New York Rangers are 16-9-0 against the over/under this season

Important Washington Capitals Betting Trends

The Washington Capitals are 17-12-0 straight up this year

The Washington Capitals are 16-13-0 against the over/under this season

Key New York Rangers Injuries

12/07/17 GO Henrik Lundqvist Flu is "?" Friday vs Washington
12/05/17 C Mika Zibanejad Concussion is "?" Friday vs Washington

Key Washington Capitals Injuries

12/07/17 RW T.J. Oshie Upper Body is "?" Friday vs NY Rangers
10/24/17 LW Andre Burakovsky Thumb IR (10/21)

Player Spotlight

Mats Zuccarello has scored 22 total points this year for the Rangers. He has 5 goals this season with 47 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 17 assists on the year and averages 18.7 minutes played per contest. Kevin Shattenkirk averages 20.9 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 8% by tallying 5 goals on 60 attempts. He has 15 assists, giving him a total of 20 points on the year. Henrik Lundqvist has 13 wins and 6 losses this season in goal for the Rangers. He has 684 shots against him and he's surrendered 57 goals. He's made 627 stops for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Nicklas Backstrom has 23 total points this season for the Capitals. He has 4 goals this year with 48 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 8%. He has a total of 19 assists on the year and averages 19.6 minutes played per contest. Alex Ovechkin averages 19 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by scoring 21 goals on 135 attempts. He has 11 assists, giving him a total of 32 points on the year. Braden Holtby has 15 wins and 6 losses this season in net for the Capitals. He has 667 shots against him and he's given up 53 goals. He's made 614 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Rangers have 32 total points this year, which is 14th in the NHL. They've scored 91 goals while giving up 81 scores, which has them ranked 8th and 20th respectively. They have had 93 power play chances and scored 20 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 22%. That is 9th in the league. The Rangers have given up 87 power play opportunities and surrendered 17 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking them 17th when short-handed. They average 31 shots per contest and as a team shoot 10.71% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 13th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Capitals are 9th in the league with a total of 35 points this season. They have 21 power play goals on 95 chances for a percentage of 22%. That is 6th in the NHL. They've given up 104 power play opportunities and surrendered 22 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, ranking 20th overall. As a team, the Capitals are 10th with a total of 90 goals scored while they've given up 86 goals this season, ranking 13th in goals against. They average 29 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 10.78%. 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

New York is 23rd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.1%, as they've attempted 1,539 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,597 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 49.1% as they have 1,161 attempts while they have given up 1,204 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 22nd in the league. The Rangers start possessions in the offensive zone 50.9% of the time, which is 16th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.1% for the season. That is 16th overall in the NHL. They have 806 face-off wins compared to 801 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.2%. That ranks them 19th in the league. On defense New York has 546 hits and they have blocked 393 shots from the opposition, putting them 21st overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Capitals are 23rd in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 49% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 51% for the season, which is 11th in the NHL. They have 919 face-off wins compared to 851 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.9%. That is 8th in the league. On defense Washington has 634 hits and they have blocked 419 shots from the opposition, which is 8th in the league. Washington is 28th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 47.4% as they've attempted 1,569 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,739 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 46.8% ranks 30th as they have 1,160 attempts while they have given up 1,320 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take New York +166

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