Calgary Flames at Minnesota Wild NHL Picks & Predictions 12/15/2018

Saturday, December 15, 2018

Xcel Energy Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Calgary Flames head to Xcel Energy Center to take on the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, December 15, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Flames at +117 and the Wild at -137.

Calgary has a record of 20-10-2 this year. They are 1st in the Pacific Division. They've tallied 113 goals and surrendered 90 goals for a point differential of +23. For the year they have an ATS mark of 20-12-0 and an over/under record of 16-15-0. Minnesota has a record of 17-12-2 this season. They are 4th in the Central Division. They have scored 100 goals and given up 89 for a goal differential of +11. Their record against the spread is 16-14-0 while their over/under mark is 15-12-0.

Valuable Calgary Flames Betting Trends

The Calgary Flames are 20-12-0 straight up this year

The Calgary Flames are 16-15-0 against the over/under this season

Important Minnesota Wild Betting Trends

The Minnesota Wild are 16-14-0 straight up this year

The Minnesota Wild are 15-12-0 against the over/under this season

Key Calgary Flames Injuries

12/13/18 GO Mike Smith Undisclosed left last game, is questionable Saturday vs Minnesota
12/09/18 C Mikael Backlund Concussion is out indefinitely
11/28/18 D Juuso Valimaki Lower Body is out indefinitely

Key Minnesota Wild Injuries

12/13/18 C Mikko Koivu Lower Body is questionable Saturday vs Calgary

Player Spotlight

Sean Monahan has scored 38 total points this year for the Flames. He has 20 goals this season with 104 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 19%. He has a total of 18 assists on the year and averages 19.7 minutes played per contest. Johnny Gaudreau averages 20.2 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by tallying 13 goals on 95 attempts. He has 29 assists, giving him a total of 42 points on the year. Mike Smith has 11 wins and 7 losses this season in goal for the Flames. He has 493 shots against him and he's surrendered 55 goals. He's made 438 stops for a save percentage of 89%.

Player Spotlight

Jason Zucker has 19 total points this season for the Wild. He has 9 goals this year with 87 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 10 assists on the year and averages 17.1 minutes played per contest. Zach Parise averages 18.4 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 18% by scoring 15 goals on 85 attempts. He has 14 assists, giving him a total of 29 points on the year. Devan Dubnyk has 12 wins and 9 losses this season in net for the Wild. He has 694 shots against him and he's given up 61 goals. He's made 633 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Flames have 42 total points this year, which is 6th in the NHL. They've scored 113 goals while giving up 90 scores, which has them ranked 3rd and 22nd respectively. They have had 113 power play chances and scored 25 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 22%. That is 12th in the league. The Flames have given up 101 power play opportunities and surrendered 22 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, ranking them 18th when short-handed. They average 33 shots per contest and as a team shoot 10.78% for the year. They allow 28 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 19th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Wild are 16th in the league with a total of 36 points this season. They have 25 power play goals on 99 chances for a percentage of 25%. That is 7th in the NHL. They've given up 94 power play opportunities and surrendered 14 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 85%, ranking 2nd overall. As a team, the Wild are 14th with a total of 100 goals scored while they've given up 89 goals this season, ranking 24th in goals against. They average 31 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 10.25%. As a unit they give up 30 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 15th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Calgary is 4th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 54.5%, as they've attempted 1,942 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,622 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 53.9% as they have 1,440 attempts while they have given up 1,230 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 4th in the league. The Flames start possessions in the offensive zone 55.9% of the time, which is 3rd in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 44.1% for the season. That is 30th overall in the NHL. They have 966 face-off wins compared to 879 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52.4%. That ranks them 4th in the league. On defense Calgary has 481 hits and they have blocked 392 shots from the opposition, putting them 30th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Wild are 14th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 50.8% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 49.2% for the season, which is 18th in the NHL. They have 978 face-off wins compared to 921 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.5%. That is 10th in the league. On defense Minnesota has 583 hits and they have blocked 482 shots from the opposition, which is 6th in the league. Minnesota is 20th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.2% as they've attempted 1,739 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,796 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 50.2% ranks 16th as they have 1,326 attempts while they have given up 1,314 shots on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's Flames/Wild NHL game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take Minnesota -137

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