Carolina Hurricanes at Chicago Blackhawks NHL Picks & Predictions 3/8/2018

Thursday, March 8, 2018

United Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Carolina Hurricanes head to United Center to take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, March 8, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Hurricanes at +122 and the Blackhawks at -135.

Carolina has a record of 29-27-11 this year and away from home they have a record of 13-15-5-2. They are 6th in the Metropolitan Division. They have tallied 178 goals and surrendered 204 goals for a point differential of -26. For the year they have an ATS mark of 29-38-0 and an over/under record of 28-37-0. Chicago has a record of 29-30-8 including 16-14-3-0 on home ice this year. They are 7th in the Central Division. They've scored 190 goals and have given up 196 for a goal differential of -6. Their record against the spread is 29-38-0 while their over/under mark is 29-35-0.

Valuable Carolina Hurricanes Betting Trends

The Carolina Hurricanes are 29-38-0 straight up this year

The Carolina Hurricanes are 28-37-0 against the over/under this season

Important Chicago Blackhawks Betting Trends

The Chicago Blackhawks are 29-38-0 straight up this year

The Chicago Blackhawks are 29-35-0 against the over/under this season

Key Carolina Hurricanes Injuries

03/04/18 LW Joakim Nordstrom Eye is out indefinitely

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)
03/06/18 D Jan Rutta Lower Body is "?" Thursday vs Carolina

Player Spotlight

Jeff Skinner has scored 40 total points this year for the Hurricanes. He has 20 goals this season with 224 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 9%. He has a total of 20 assists on the year and averages 16.8 minutes played per contest. Teuvo Teravainen averages 17 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by tallying 19 goals on 150 attempts. He has 33 assists, giving him a total of 52 points on the year. Cam Ward has 19 wins and 11 losses this season in goal for the Hurricanes. He has 985 shots against him and he's surrendered 92 goals. He's made 893 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Patrick Kane has 63 total points this season for the Blackhawks. He has 24 goals this year with 240 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 197 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 Hurricanes have 69 total points this year, which is 21st in the NHL. They've scored 178 goals while giving up 204 scores, which has them ranked 26th and 9th respectively. They have had 206 power play chances and scored 39 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 19%. That is 20th in the league. The Hurricanes have given up 159 power play opportunities and surrendered 35 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, ranking them 22nd when short-handed. They average 34 shots per contest and as a team shoot 7.79% for the year. They allow 29 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 31st 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 236 chances for a percentage of 16%. That is 28th in the NHL. They've given up 196 power play opportunities and surrendered 35 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, ranking 11th overall. As a team, the Blackhawks are 19th with a total of 190 goals scored while they've given up 196 goals this season, ranking 16th in goals against. They average 35 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 14th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Carolina has a Corsi percentage of 54.8% as they've tried 4,337 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 3,573 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 1st in Corsi percentage. They are 1st in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 54.2% as they have 3,224 shots while they've given up 2,726 attempts on defense. The Hurricanes start possessions in the offensive zone 57.7% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 42.3% for the year. That puts them 1st and 31st in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 2,074 face-off wins as opposed to 1,793 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 53.6%. That is 1st overall in the NHL. On defense Carolina has 1,325 hits and they've blocked 847 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 30th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Blackhawks are 2nd in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 57.2% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 42.8% for the season, which is 30th in the NHL. They have 2,051 face-off wins compared to 2,085 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.6%. That is 13th in the league. On defense Chicago has 1,151 hits and they have blocked 921 shots from the opposition, which is 23rd in the league. Chicago is 2nd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 53.7% as they've attempted 4,453 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,843 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 51.7% ranks 5th as they have 3,127 attempts while they have given up 2,922 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Carolina +122

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