Boston Bruins at Chicago Blackhawks NHL Picks & Predictions 3/11/2018

Sunday, March 11, 2018

United Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Boston Bruins head to United Center to take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, March 11, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Bruins at -175 and the Blackhawks at +158.

Boston has a record of 42-15-8 this year and away from home they have a record of 18-8-4-2. They are 2nd in the Atlantic Division. They have tallied 218 goals and surrendered 165 goals for a point differential of +53. For the year they have an ATS mark of 42-23-0 and an over/under record of 30-34-0. Chicago has a record of 29-31-8 including 16-15-3-0 on home ice this year. They are 7th in the Central Division. They've scored 192 goals and have given up 199 for a goal differential of -7. Their record against the spread is 29-39-0 while their over/under mark is 29-36-0.

Valuable Boston Bruins Betting Trends

The Boston Bruins are 42-23-0 straight up this year

The Boston Bruins are 30-34-0 against the over/under this season

Important Chicago Blackhawks Betting Trends

The Chicago Blackhawks are 29-39-0 straight up this year

The Chicago Blackhawks are 29-36-0 against the over/under this season

Key Boston Bruins Injuries

03/07/18 RW David Backes None 3-game suspension (eligible to return 03/13 vs Carolina)
03/06/18 D Charlie McAvoy Lower Body is out indefinitely
02/27/18 C Patrice Bergeron Foot is out indefinitely
02/01/18 LW Anders Bjork Shoulder IR (01/30)

Key Chicago Blackhawks Injuries

12/27/17 GO Corey Crawford Concussion IR (12/26)
10/05/17 RW Marian Hossa Infection IR (10/03)
10/05/15 D Michal Rozsival Concussion IR (10/03)

Player Spotlight

David Pastrnak has scored 63 total points this year for the Bruins. He has 23 goals this season with 177 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He has a total of 40 assists on the year and averages 17.8 minutes played per contest. Brad Marchand averages 19.6 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 21% by tallying 29 goals on 141 attempts. He has 38 assists, giving him a total of 67 points on the year. Tuukka Rask has 27 wins and 11 losses this season in goal for the Bruins. He has 1,182 shots against him and he's surrendered 95 goals. He's made 1,087 stops for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Patrick Kane has 63 total points this season for the Blackhawks. He has 24 goals this year with 241 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 39 assists on the year and averages 20.4 minutes played per contest. Jonathan Toews averages 19.6 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 9% by scoring 18 goals on 198 attempts. He has 27 assists, giving him a total of 45 points on the year. Anton Forsberg has 8 wins and 14 losses this season in net for the Blackhawks. He has 765 shots against him and he's given up 72 goals. He's made 693 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Bruins have 92 total points this year, which is 3rd in the NHL. They've scored 218 goals while giving up 165 scores, which has them ranked 7th and 31st respectively. They have had 207 power play chances and scored 43 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 21%. That is 12th in the league. The Bruins have given up 198 power play opportunities and surrendered 34 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, ranking them 6th when short-handed. They average 33 shots per contest and as a team shoot 10.25% for the year. They allow 29 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 7th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blackhawks are 23rd in the league with a total of 66 points this season. They have 37 power play goals on 238 chances for a percentage of 16%. That is 28th in the NHL. They've given up 198 power play opportunities and surrendered 36 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, ranking 13th overall. As a team, the Blackhawks are 20th with a total of 192 goals scored while they've given up 199 goals this season, ranking 18th in goals against. They average 34 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.21%. As a unit they give up 32 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 16th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Boston is 3rd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 52.7%, as they've attempted 3,897 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,491 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 52.8% as they have 2,948 attempts while they have given up 2,636 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 2nd in the league. The Bruins start possessions in the offensive zone 55.2% of the time, which is 3rd in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 44.8% for the season. That is 29th overall in the NHL. They have 2,066 face-off wins compared to 1,974 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.1%. That ranks them 9th in the league. On defense Boston has 1,558 hits and they have blocked 855 shots from the opposition, putting them 31st overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Blackhawks are 2nd in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 56.9% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 43.1% for the season, which is 30th in the NHL. They have 2,080 face-off wins compared to 2,111 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.6%. That is 13th in the league. On defense Chicago has 1,167 hits and they have blocked 943 shots from the opposition, which is 23rd in the league. Chicago is 2nd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 53.5% as they've attempted 4,498 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,916 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 51.5% ranks 5th as they have 3,162 attempts while they have given up 2,973 shots on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's Bruins/Blackhawks NHL game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take Boston -175

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