Boston Bruins at Montreal Canadiens NHL Picks & Predictions 12/17/2018

Monday, December 17, 2018

Bell Centre

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Boston Bruins travel to Bell Centre to play the Montreal Canadiens on Monday, December 17, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Bruins at +104 and the Canadiens at -115.

Boston has a record of 17-11-4 this season. They are 5th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 88 goals and given up 84 goals for a point differential of +4. For the season they have an ATS record of 17-15-0 and an over/under record of 11-20-0. Montreal is 17-11-5 this season. They are 4th in the Atlantic Division. They have scored 108 goals and surrendered 107 for a goal differential of +1. Their record against the spread is 17-16-0 while their over/under record is 18-14-0.

Valuable Boston Bruins Betting Trends

The Boston Bruins are 17-15-0 straight up this year

The Boston Bruins are 11-20-0 against the over/under this season

Important Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends

The Montreal Canadiens are 17-16-0 straight up this year

The Montreal Canadiens are 18-14-0 against the over/under this season

Key Boston Bruins Injuries

12/14/18 LW Jake DeBrusk Upper Body is questionable Sunday vs Buffalo
11/29/18 D Kevan Miller Throat is out indefinitely
11/22/18 C Patrice Bergeron Upper Body is out 4-6 weeks
11/16/18 D Zdeno Chara Lower Body is out indefinitely (will return 12/17)

Key Montreal Canadiens Injuries

11/12/18 RW Joel Armia Knee is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

David Pastrnak has accumulated 39 total points this season for the Bruins. He has 21 goals this year with 128 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 18 assists on the season and averages 19.3 minutes played per game. Brad Marchand averages 19.9 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 11% by scoring 10 goals on 92 shots. He has 23 assists, giving him a total of 33 points on the season. Tuukka Rask has 8 wins and 6 losses this season in net for the Bruins. He has 455 shots against him and he's given up 38 goals. He's made 417 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Max Domi has scored 33 total points this year for the Canadiens. He has 14 goals this season with 77 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 18%. He has a total of 19 assists on the season and averages 17.8 minutes played per game. Tomas Tatar averages 16.3 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by scoring 12 goals on 81 shots. He has 12 assists, giving him a total of 24 points on the season. Carey Price has 13 wins and 8 losses this year in goal for the Canadiens. He has 744 shots against him and he's surrendered 73 goals. He's made 671 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Bruins have 38 total points this season, which ranks them 13th in the NHL. They are 27th in the league in goals scored with 88 while they've given up 84 goals, ranking them 30th overall. They have had 101 power play opportunities and have scored 26 goals on those chances for a percentage of 26%. That is 6th in the NHL. The Bruins have allowed 95 power play opportunities and have given up 22 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%, putting them 24th in the league when short-handed. They average 32 shots per game and as a team shoot 8.52% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 92%. That puts them 2nd in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canadiens are 10th in the NHL with a total of 39 points this year. They have 14 power play goals on 114 opportunities for a percentage of 12%. That ranks them 30th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 107 power play opportunities and have given up 25 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%. That is 25th in the NHL. As a team, the Canadiens are 9th in the league with 108 goals scored while they've given up 107 goals, which is 8th overall. They average 35 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 9.47%. As a team they give up 31 shots per game and have a save percentage of 89%. That is 25th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Boston is 10th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51%, as they've attempted 1,881 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,809 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 50.9% as they have 1,451 attempts while they have given up 1,399 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 12th in the league. The Bruins start possessions in the offensive zone 53.9% of the time, which is 7th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 46.1% for the season. That is 25th overall in the NHL. They have 962 face-off wins compared to 975 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.7%. That ranks them 19th in the league. On defense Boston has 724 hits and they have blocked 410 shots from the opposition, putting them 29th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Canadiens are 4th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 55.4% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 44.6% for the season, which is 28th in the NHL. They have 959 face-off wins compared to 1,071 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.2%. That is 29th in the league. On defense Montreal has 903 hits and they have blocked 474 shots from the opposition, which is 11th in the league. Montreal is 5th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 53.7% as they've attempted 2,134 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,838 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 52.9% ranks 6th as they have 1,532 attempts while they have given up 1,364 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Boston +104

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