Toronto Maple Leafs at Colorado Avalanche NHL Picks & Predictions 12/29/2017

Friday, December 29, 2017

Pepsi Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Toronto Maple Leafs travel to Pepsi Center to play the Colorado Avalanche on Friday, December 29, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Maple Leafs at +127 and the Avalanche at -140.

Toronto has a record of 22-14-1 this season and on the road they have a record of 11-9-1-1. They are 3rd in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 122 goals and given up 104 goals for a point differential of +18. For the season they have an ATS record of 22-15-0 and an over/under record of 18-16-0. Colorado is 17-16-3 including 10-7-1-0 at home this season. They are 7th in the Central Division. They've scored 113 goals and surrendered 116 for a goal differential of -3. Their record against the spread is 17-19-0 while their over/under record is 21-14-0.

Valuable Toronto Maple Leafs Betting Trends

The Toronto Maple Leafs are 22-15-0 straight up this year

The Toronto Maple Leafs are 18-16-0 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 Toronto Maple Leafs Injuries

12/18/17 RW Nikita Soshnikov Lower Body IR (12/11)
12/17/17 D Nikita Zaitsev Lower Body IR (12/16)
11/06/17 LW Joffrey Lupul Abdominal IR (10/03)

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

Auston Matthews has accumulated 28 total points this season for the Maple Leafs. He has 14 goals this year with 84 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 17%. He has a total of 14 assists on the season and averages 18.6 minutes played per game. Nazem Kadri averages 16.5 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 13 goals on 95 shots. He has 10 assists, giving him a total of 23 points on the season. Frederik Andersen has 19 wins and 10 losses this season in net for the Maple Leafs. He has 1,025 shots against him and he's given up 78 goals. He's made 947 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Mikko Rantanen has scored 32 total points this year for the Avalanche. He has 11 goals this season with 80 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 21 assists on the season and averages 18.7 minutes played per game. Nathan MacKinnon averages 19.6 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by scoring 15 goals on 113 shots. He has 25 assists, giving him a total of 40 points on the season. Semyon Varlamov has 12 wins and 9 losses this year in goal for the Avalanche. He has 759 shots against him and he's surrendered 69 goals. He's made 690 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Maple Leafs have 45 total points this season, which ranks them 11th in the NHL. They are 5th in the league in goals scored with 122 while they've given up 104 goals, ranking them 22nd overall. They have had 107 power play opportunities and have scored 24 goals on those chances for a percentage of 22%. That is 5th in the NHL. The Maple Leafs have allowed 114 power play opportunities and have given up 20 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, putting them 13th in the league when short-handed. They average 31 shots per game and as a team shoot 10.71% for the season. They allow 34 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 92%. That puts them 9th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Avalanche are 23rd in the NHL with a total of 37 points this year. They have 28 power play goals on 148 opportunities for a percentage of 19%. That ranks them 17th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 133 power play opportunities and have given up 22 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%. That is 7th in the NHL. As a team, the Avalanche are 11th in the league with 113 goals scored while they've given up 116 goals, which is 10th overall. They average 30 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 10.57%. As a team they give up 32 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 22nd in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Toronto is 22nd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.4%, as they've attempted 2,199 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,248 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 48.2% as they have 1,615 attempts while they have given up 1,738 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 27th in the league. The Maple Leafs start possessions in the offensive zone 48% of the time, which is 27th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 52% for the season. That is 6th overall in the NHL. They have 1,176 face-off wins compared to 1,152 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.5%. That ranks them 15th in the league. On defense Toronto has 775 hits and they have blocked 510 shots from the opposition, putting them 24th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Avalanche are 17th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 49.5% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 50.5% for the season, which is 8th in the NHL. They have 984 face-off wins compared to 1,194 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 45.2%. That is 31st in the league. On defense Colorado has 626 hits and they have blocked 547 shots from the opposition, which is 15th in the league. Colorado is 25th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 47.9% as they've attempted 1,969 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,143 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 47.7% ranks 23rd as they have 1,457 attempts while they have given up 1,596 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Colorado -140

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