Chicago Blackhawks at Ottawa Senators NHL Picks & Predictions 10/4/2018

Thursday, October 4, 2018

Canadian Tire Centre

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Chicago Blackhawks head to Canadian Tire Centre to take on the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, October 4, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Blackhawks at -143 and the Senators at -105.

Chicago had a record of 33-39-10 last year and away from home they had a record of 15-21-5-1. They were 7th in the Central Division. They tallied 229 goals and surrendered 256 goals for a point differential of -27. For the year they had an ATS mark of 33-49-0 and an over/under record of 37-41-0. Ottawa finished with a record of 28-43-11 including 10-14-4-3 on home ice last year. They were 7th in the Atlantic Division. They scored 221 goals and gave up 291 for a goal differential of -70. Their record against the spread was 28-54-0 while their over/under mark was 44-38-0.

Valuable Chicago Blackhawks Betting Trends

The Chicago Blackhawks were 33-49-0 straight up last year

The Chicago Blackhawks were 37-41-0 against the over/under last season

Important Ottawa Senators Betting Trends

The Ottawa Senators were 28-54-0 straight up last year

The Ottawa Senators were 44-38-0 against the over/under last season

Key Chicago Blackhawks Injuries

10/01/18 D Gustav Forsling Wrist is out indefinitely
10/01/18 GO Corey Crawford Concussion is doubtful Thursday vs Ottawa

Key Ottawa Senators Injuries

10/01/18 C Jean-Gabriel Pageau Achilles is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Jonathan Toews scored 52 total points last year for the Blackhawks. He had 20 goals last season with 211 shots on net giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He had a total of 32 assists on the year and averaged 19.7 minutes played per contest. Patrick Kane averaged 20.2 minutes of ice time per game last season. In that time he had a shooting percentage of 10% by tallying 27 goals on 285 attempts. He had 49 assists giving him a total of 76 points on the year. Jean-Francois Berube had 3 wins and 6 losses last season in goal for the Blackhawks. He had 398 shots against him and he surrendered 42 goals. He made 356 stops for a save percentage of 89%.

Player Spotlight

Matt Duchene had 59 total points last season for the Senators. He had 27 goals last year with 190 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He had a total of 32 assists on the year and averaged 18.3 minutes played per contest. Mike Hoffman averaged 18.4 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he had a shooting percentage of 9% by scoring 22 goals on 257 attempts. He had 34 assists giving him a total of 56 points on the year. Craig Anderson had 23 wins and 25 losses last season in net for the Senators. He had 1,768 shots against him and he gave up 180 goals. He made 1,588 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blackhawks had 76 total points last year, which was 25th in the NHL. They scored 229 goals while giving up 256 scores, which had them ranked 22nd and 9th respectively. They had 269 power play chances and scored 43 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 16%. That was 28th in the league. The Blackhawks gave up 236 power play opportunities and surrendered 49 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, ranking them 20th when short-handed. They averaged 34 shots per contest and as a team shot 8.20% for the year. They allowed 33 shot attempts to their opposition per game and had a team save percentage of 91%, which was 19th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Senators were 30th in the league with a total of 67 points last season. They had 41 power play goals on 248 chances for a percentage of 17%. That was 27th in the NHL. They gave up 235 power play opportunities and surrendered 56 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 76%, ranking 26th overall. As a team, the Senators were 25th with a total of 221 goals scored while they gave up 291 goals last season, ranking 2nd in goals against. They averaged 31 shots per game and had a team shooting percentage of 8.79%. As a unit they gave up 33 shots per contest and had a save percentage of 90%, putting them 30th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Chicago was 4th in the league in Corsi percentage last season with 52.2%, as they tried 5,272 shots on net at full strength while giving up 4,832 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage was 50.7% as they had 3,738 attempts while they gave up 3,633 shots on the defensive end. That ranked them 14th in the NHL. The Blackhawks started possessions in the offensive zone 55.7% of the time, which was 2nd in the league, while their defensive zone percentage was at 44.3% for the season. That was 30th overall in the NHL. They had 2,472 face-off wins compared to 2,547 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage was 49.3%. That ranked them 21st in the league. On defense Chicago had 1,376 hits and they blocked 1,199 shots from the opposition, putting them 17th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Ottawa was 26th in the league in Corsi percentage last season with 47.6%, as they tried 4,619 shots on net at full strength while giving up 5,085 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage was 48% as they had 3,462 attempts while they gave up 3,748 shots on the defensive end. That ranked them 23rd in the NHL. The Senators started possessions in the offensive zone 50.4% of the time, which was 17th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage was at 49.6% for the season. That was 14th overall in the NHL. They had 2,499 face-off wins compared to 2,470 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage was 50.3%. That ranked them 14th in the league. On defense Ottawa had 1,966 hits and they blocked 1,337 shots from the opposition, putting them 3rd overall.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Chicago -143

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