Colorado Avalanche at Arizona Coyotes NHL Picks & Predictions 12/22/2018

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Gila River Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Colorado Avalanche travel to Gila River Arena to play the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday, December 22, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Avalanche at -139 and the Coyotes at +108.

Colorado has a record of 19-10-6 this season. They are 3rd in the Central Division. They've scored 124 goals and given up 107 goals for a point differential of +17. For the season they have an ATS record of 19-16-0 and an over/under record of 19-16-0. Arizona is 14-18-2 this season. They are 7th in the Pacific Division. They have scored 83 goals and surrendered 94 for a goal differential of -11. Their record against the spread is 14-19-0 while their over/under record is 15-17-0.

Valuable 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

Important Arizona Coyotes Betting Trends

The Arizona Coyotes are 14-19-0 straight up this year

The Arizona Coyotes are 15-17-0 against the over/under this season

Key Colorado Avalanche Injuries

12/20/18 D Nikita Zadorov Lower Body is out Friday vs Chicago & is out Saturday vs Arizona
12/11/18 C Vladislav Kamenev Shoulder is out indefinitely
10/04/18 D Conor Timmins Concussion is out indefinitely

Key Arizona Coyotes Injuries

12/08/18 C Vinnie Hinostroza Lower Body is out indefinitely
12/06/18 GO Antti Raanta Lower Body IR (12/06)
12/03/18 RW Michael Grabner Eye is out indefinitely
11/17/18 D Jason Demers Lower Body is out for season
10/04/18 C Dave Bolland Back is out indefinitely
10/03/18 C Christian Dvorak Lower Body IR (10/03)

Player Spotlight

Nathan MacKinnon has accumulated 55 total points this season for the Avalanche. He has 21 goals this year with 153 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 34 assists on the season and averages 22 minutes played per game. Mikko Rantanen averages 21 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 18% by scoring 16 goals on 91 shots. He has 42 assists, giving him a total of 58 points on the season. 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%.

Player Spotlight

Clayton Keller has scored 23 total points this year for the Coyotes. He has 8 goals this season with 78 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 15 assists on the season and averages 18.8 minutes played per game. Oliver Ekman-Larsson averages 23.7 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 5% by scoring 4 goals on 79 shots. He has 14 assists, giving him a total of 18 points on the season. Darcy Kuemper has 4 wins and 9 losses this year in goal for the Coyotes. He has 456 shots against him and he's surrendered 41 goals. He's made 415 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Avalanche have 44 total points this season, which ranks them 7th in the NHL. They are 5th in the league in goals scored with 124 while they've given up 107 goals, ranking them 13th overall. They have had 123 power play opportunities and have scored 35 goals on those chances for a percentage of 28%. That is 3rd in the NHL. The Avalanche have allowed 127 power play opportunities and have given up 29 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%, putting them 23rd in the league when short-handed. They average 32 shots per game and as a team shoot 11.16% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%. That puts them 13th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Coyotes are 29th in the NHL with a total of 30 points this year. They have 18 power play goals on 109 opportunities for a percentage of 17%. That ranks them 23rd in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 103 power play opportunities and have given up 12 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 88%. That is 1st in the NHL. As a team, the Coyotes are 30th in the league with 83 goals scored while they've given up 94 goals, which is 29th overall. They average 31 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 7.96%. As a team they give up 30 shots per game and have a save percentage of 91%. That is 10th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

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 is 48.6% as they have 1,458 attempts while they have given up 1,542 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 23rd in the league. The Avalanche start possessions in the offensive zone 52.5% of the time, which is 9th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.5% for the season. That is 23rd overall 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 ranks them 27th in the league. On defense Colorado has 669 hits and they have blocked 550 shots from the opposition, putting them 4th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Coyotes are 13th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 51.5% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 48.5% for the season, which is 20th in the NHL. They have 996 face-off wins compared to 1,038 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49%. That is 20th in the league. On defense Arizona has 745 hits and they have blocked 496 shots from the opposition, which is 15th in the league. Arizona is 13th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.7% as they've attempted 2,009 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,950 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 50.4% ranks 13th as they have 1,480 attempts while they have given up 1,454 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Colorado -139

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