Chicago Blackhawks at Colorado Avalanche NHL Picks & Predictions 12/21/2018

Friday, December 21, 2018

Pepsi Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Chicago Blackhawks head to Pepsi Center to take on the Colorado Avalanche on Friday, December 21, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Blackhawks at +165 and the Avalanche at -200.

Chicago has a record of 11-19-6 this year. They are 7th in the Central Division. They've tallied 101 goals and surrendered 136 goals for a point differential of -35. For the year they have an ATS mark of 11-25-0 and an over/under record of 20-14-0. Colorado has a record of 19-10-6 this season. They are 3rd in the Central Division. They have scored 124 goals and given up 107 for a goal differential of +17. Their record against the spread is 19-16-0 while their over/under mark is 19-16-0.

Valuable Chicago Blackhawks Betting Trends

The Chicago Blackhawks are 11-25-0 straight up this year

The Chicago Blackhawks are 20-14-0 against the over/under this season

Important Colorado Avalanche Betting Trends

The Colorado Avalanche are 19-16-0 straight up this year

The Colorado Avalanche are 19-16-0 against the over/under this season

Key Chicago Blackhawks Injuries

12/19/18 C Marcus Kruger Concussion is out Thursday vs Dallas
12/18/18 GO Corey Crawford Concussion IR (12/18)
12/12/18 C Artem Anisimov Concussion IR (12/09)
12/08/18 D Gustav Forsling Shoulder IR (12/08)
11/16/18 D Brandon Davidson Leg is out indefinitely

Key Colorado Avalanche Injuries

12/11/18 C Vladislav Kamenev Shoulder is out indefinitely
10/04/18 D Conor Timmins Concussion is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Patrick Kane has scored 39 total points this year for the Blackhawks. He has 15 goals this season with 141 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 24 assists on the year and averages 22.1 minutes played per contest. Jonathan Toews averages 20.3 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 17% by tallying 16 goals on 95 attempts. He has 15 assists, giving him a total of 31 points on the year. Cam Ward has 5 wins and 5 losses this season in goal for the Blackhawks. He has 501 shots against him and he's surrendered 56 goals. He's made 445 stops for a save percentage of 89%.

Player Spotlight

Mikko Rantanen has 58 total points this season for the Avalanche. He has 16 goals this year with 91 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 18%. He has a total of 42 assists on the year and averages 21 minutes played per contest. Nathan MacKinnon averages 22 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 21 goals on 153 attempts. He has 34 assists, giving him a total of 55 points on the year. Semyon Varlamov has 11 wins and 8 losses this season in net for the Avalanche. He has 704 shots against him and he's given up 61 goals. He's made 643 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blackhawks have 28 total points this year, which is 30th in the NHL. They've scored 101 goals while giving up 136 scores, which has them ranked 18th and 1st respectively. They have had 108 power play chances and scored 13 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 12%. That is 31st in the league. The Blackhawks have given up 105 power play opportunities and surrendered 29 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 72%, ranking them 31st when short-handed. They average 32 shots per contest and as a team shoot 8.78% for the year. They allow 34 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 89%, which is 28th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Avalanche are 7th in the league with a total of 44 points this season. They have 35 power play goals on 123 chances for a percentage of 28%. That is 3rd in the NHL. They've given up 127 power play opportunities and surrendered 29 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%, ranking 24th overall. As a team, the Avalanche are 3rd with a total of 124 goals scored while they've given up 107 goals this season, ranking 12th in goals against. They average 32 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 11.16%. As a unit they give up 32 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 11th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Chicago is 15th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.3%, as they've attempted 2,128 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,106 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 48.5% as they have 1,561 attempts while they have given up 1,658 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 24th in the league. The Blackhawks start possessions in the offensive zone 52.7% of the time, which is 9th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.3% for the season. That is 23rd overall in the NHL. They have 1,040 face-off wins compared to 1,038 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50%. That ranks them 16th in the league. On defense Chicago has 572 hits and they have blocked 448 shots from the opposition, putting them 26th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Avalanche are 10th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 52.5% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 47.5% for the season, which is 22nd in the NHL. They have 1,031 face-off wins compared to 1,125 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.8%. That is 27th in the league. On defense Colorado has 669 hits and they have blocked 550 shots from the opposition, which is 3rd in the league. Colorado is 24th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.1% as they've attempted 1,935 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,092 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 48.6% ranks 23rd as they have 1,458 attempts while they have given up 1,542 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Colorado -200

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