Chicago Blackhawks at New York Rangers NHL Picks & Predictions 1/3/2018

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Madison Square Garden

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Chicago Blackhawks head to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Rangers on Wednesday, January 3, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Blackhawks at +136 and the Rangers at -150.

Chicago has a record of 18-14-6 this year and away from home they have a record of 8-9-4-1. They are 6th in the Central Division. They have tallied 112 goals and surrendered 106 goals for a point differential of +6. For the year they have an ATS mark of 18-20-0 and an over/under record of 16-20-0. New York has a record of 21-13-5 including 15-6-3-2 on home ice this year. They are 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 123 goals and have given up 109 for a goal differential of +14. Their record against the spread is 21-18-0 while their over/under mark is 20-17-0.

Valuable Chicago Blackhawks Betting Trends

The Chicago Blackhawks are 18-20-0 straight up this year

The Chicago Blackhawks are 16-20-0 against the over/under this season

Important New York Rangers Betting Trends

The New York Rangers are 21-18-0 straight up this year

The New York Rangers are 20-17-0 against the over/under this season

Key Chicago Blackhawks Injuries

12/29/17 C Artem Anisimov Upper Body IR (12/28)
12/27/17 GO Corey Crawford Upper Body IR (12/26)
10/05/17 RW Marian Hossa Infection IR (10/03)
10/05/15 D Michal Rozsival Upper Body IR (10/03)

Key New York Rangers Injuries

12/28/17 LW Chris Kreider Blood Clot is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Patrick Kane has scored 38 total points this year for the Blackhawks. He has 16 goals this season with 135 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 22 assists on the year and averages 20.1 minutes played per contest. Jonathan Toews averages 19.8 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 9% by tallying 10 goals on 107 attempts. He has 14 assists, giving him a total of 24 points on the year. Anton Forsberg has 2 wins and 5 losses this season in goal for the Blackhawks. He has 307 shots against him and he's surrendered 30 goals. He's made 277 stops for a save percentage of 90%.

Player Spotlight

Kevin Shattenkirk has 23 total points this season for the Rangers. He has 5 goals this year with 83 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 6%. He has a total of 18 assists on the year and averages 20.3 minutes played per contest. Mats Zuccarello averages 19 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 9% by scoring 8 goals on 86 attempts. He has 22 assists, giving him a total of 30 points on the year. Henrik Lundqvist has 18 wins and 9 losses this season in net for the Rangers. He has 1,045 shots against him and he's given up 81 goals. He's made 964 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blackhawks have 42 total points this year, which is 20th in the NHL. They've scored 112 goals while giving up 106 scores, which has them ranked 17th and 24th respectively. They have had 147 power play chances and scored 22 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 15%. That is 29th in the league. The Blackhawks have given up 121 power play opportunities and surrendered 23 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, ranking them 15th when short-handed. They average 35 shots per contest and as a team shoot 8.48% for the year. They allow 33 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 92%, which is 8th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Rangers are 13th in the league with a total of 47 points this season. They have 24 power play goals on 126 chances for a percentage of 19%. That is 18th in the NHL. They've given up 131 power play opportunities and surrendered 21 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 84%, ranking 4th overall. As a team, the Rangers are 8th with a total of 123 goals scored while they've given up 109 goals this season, ranking 22nd in goals against. They average 32 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 9.94%. As a unit they give up 34 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 92%, putting them 4th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Chicago has a Corsi percentage of 52.9% as they've tried 2,495 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,219 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 2nd in Corsi percentage. They are 12th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 51% as they have 1,769 shots while they've given up 1,698 attempts on defense. The Blackhawks start possessions in the offensive zone 58.2% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 41.8% for the year. That puts them 2nd and 30th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,163 face-off wins as opposed to 1,229 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.6%. That is 21st overall in the NHL. On defense Chicago has 714 hits and they've blocked 521 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 26th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Rangers are 15th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 50.5% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 49.5% for the season, which is 12th in the NHL. They have 1,158 face-off wins compared to 1,145 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.3%. That is 18th in the league. On defense New York has 793 hits and they have blocked 587 shots from the opposition, which is 14th in the league. New York is 26th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48% as they've attempted 2,184 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,363 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 48.4% ranks 26th as they have 1,666 attempts while they have given up 1,776 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Chicago +136

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