Chicago Blackhawks at Columbus Blue Jackets NHL Picks & Predictions 2/24/2018

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Nationwide Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Chicago Blackhawks head to Nationwide Arena to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, February 24, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Blackhawks at +144 and the Blue Jackets at -160.

Chicago has a record of 26-27-8 this year and away from home they have a record of 12-13-5-1. They are 7th in the Central Division. They have tallied 173 goals and surrendered 175 goals for a point differential of -2. For the year they have an ATS mark of 26-35-0 and an over/under record of 26-32-0. Columbus has a record of 30-26-5 including 17-11-2-1 on home ice this year. They are 5th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 160 goals and have given up 172 for a goal differential of -12. Their record against the spread is 30-31-0 while their over/under mark is 26-34-0.

Valuable Chicago Blackhawks Betting Trends

The Chicago Blackhawks are 26-35-0 straight up this year

The Chicago Blackhawks are 26-32-0 against the over/under this season

Important Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Trends

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 30-31-0 straight up this year

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 26-34-0 against the over/under this season

Key Chicago Blackhawks Injuries

12/27/17 GO Corey Crawford Vertigo IR (12/26)
10/05/17 RW Marian Hossa Infection IR (10/03)
10/05/15 D Michal Rozsival Upper Body IR (10/03)
02/16/18 D Jan Rutta Upper Body IR (02/05)

Key Columbus Blue Jackets Injuries

02/20/18 D Markus Nutivaara Undisclosed IR (02/19)
02/19/18 LW Nick Foligno Lower Body is out indefinitely
02/19/18 D Dean Kukan Upper Body IR (02/18)

Player Spotlight

Patrick Kane has scored 57 total points this year for the Blackhawks. He has 23 goals this season with 219 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 34 assists on the year and averages 20.3 minutes played per contest. Jonathan Toews averages 19.7 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 9% by tallying 16 goals on 180 attempts. He has 24 assists, giving him a total of 40 points on the year. Anton Forsberg has 7 wins and 12 losses this season in goal for the Blackhawks. He has 677 shots against him and he's surrendered 61 goals. He's made 616 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Artemi Panarin has 49 total points this season for the Blue Jackets. He has 17 goals this year with 171 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 32 assists on the year and averages 20.4 minutes played per contest. Seth Jones averages 25 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 4% by scoring 8 goals on 197 attempts. He has 28 assists, giving him a total of 36 points on the year. Sergei Bobrovsky has 25 wins and 20 losses this season in net for the Blue Jackets. He has 1,520 shots against him and he's given up 123 goals. He's made 1,397 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blackhawks have 60 total points this year, which is 22nd in the NHL. They've scored 173 goals while giving up 175 scores, which has them ranked 19th and 17th respectively. They have had 221 power play chances and scored 35 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 16%. That is 29th in the league. The Blackhawks have given up 186 power play opportunities and surrendered 32 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, ranking them 7th when short-handed. They average 35 shots per contest and as a team shoot 8.16% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 12th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blue Jackets are 19th in the league with a total of 65 points this season. They have 24 power play goals on 170 chances for a percentage of 14%. That is 31st in the NHL. They've given up 156 power play opportunities and surrendered 37 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 76%, ranking 27th overall. As a team, the Blue Jackets are 27th with a total of 160 goals scored while they've given up 172 goals this season, ranking 20th in goals against. They average 34 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 7.62%. As a unit they give up 31 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 11th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Chicago is 2nd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 53.8%, as they've attempted 4,069 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,501 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 51.8% as they have 2,853 attempts while they have given up 2,651 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 6th in the league. The Blackhawks start possessions in the offensive zone 57.5% of the time, which is 2nd in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 42.5% for the season. That is 30th overall in the NHL. They have 1,873 face-off wins compared to 1,897 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.7%. That ranks them 13th in the league. On defense Chicago has 1,088 hits and they have blocked 850 shots from the opposition, putting them 23rd overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Blue Jackets start possessions in the offensive zone 53.6% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 46.4% for the year. That ranks them 4th and 28th respectively in the NHL. They have 1,775 face-off wins as opposed to 1,943 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.7%. That is 25th in the league. On defense Columbus has 1,352 hits and they've blocked 914 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 13th in blocked shots. Columbus is ranked 5th in Corsi percentage with 51.6% as they've tried 3,734 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 3,496 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 3rd in the NHL at 52.8%, as they have 2,890 shots while they've given up 2,582 attempts on defense.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Chicago +144

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