Colorado Avalanche at Chicago Blackhawks NHL Picks & Predictions 3/20/2018

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

United Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Colorado Avalanche travel to United Center to play the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, March 20, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Avalanche at -105 and the Blackhawks at -105.

Colorado has a record of 39-25-8 this season and on the road they have a record of 14-16-6-1. They are 4th in the Central Division. They've scored 231 goals and given up 209 goals for a point differential of +22. For the season they have an ATS record of 39-33-0 and an over/under record of 38-28-0. Chicago is 30-34-9 including 17-15-4-0 at home this season. They are 7th in the Central Division. They've scored 208 goals and surrendered 223 for a goal differential of -15. Their record against the spread is 30-43-0 while their over/under record is 33-37-0.

Valuable Colorado Avalanche Betting Trends

The Colorado Avalanche are 39-33-0 straight up this year

The Colorado Avalanche are 38-28-0 against the over/under this season

Important Chicago Blackhawks Betting Trends

The Chicago Blackhawks are 30-43-0 straight up this year

The Chicago Blackhawks are 33-37-0 against the over/under this season

Key Colorado Avalanche Injuries

12/18/17 D Sergei Boikov Shoulder is out indefinitely
03/18/18 C Colin Wilson Concussion is "?" Tuesday vs Chicago
03/12/18 GO Jonathan Bernier Concussion is out indefinitely
03/04/18 GO Andrew Hammond Concussion IR (02/26)
01/30/18 D Mark Barberio Lower Body IR (01/24)

Key Chicago Blackhawks Injuries

12/27/17 GO Corey Crawford Concussion IR (12/26)
10/05/17 RW Marian Hossa Infection IR (10/03)
10/05/15 D Michal Rozsival Concussion IR (10/03)
03/18/18 C Matthew Highmore Facial left last game, is "?" Tuesday vs Colorado
03/10/18 LW Anthony Duclair Knee is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Nathan MacKinnon has accumulated 89 total points this season for the Avalanche. He has 38 goals this year with 247 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 51 assists on the season and averages 19.6 minutes played per game. Mikko Rantanen averages 18.7 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by scoring 25 goals on 152 shots. He has 52 assists, giving him a total of 77 points on the season. Semyon Varlamov has 21 wins and 14 losses this season in net for the Avalanche. He has 1,431 shots against him and he's given up 118 goals. He's made 1,313 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Jonathan Toews has scored 51 total points this year for the Blackhawks. He has 20 goals this season with 210 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 31 assists on the season and averages 19.7 minutes played per game. Patrick Kane averages 20.4 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by scoring 25 goals on 260 shots. He has 44 assists, giving him a total of 69 points on the season. Anton Forsberg has 9 wins and 15 losses this year in goal for the Blackhawks. He has 803 shots against him and he's surrendered 76 goals. He's made 727 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Avalanche have 86 total points this season, which ranks them 12th in the NHL. They are 8th in the league in goals scored with 231 while they've given up 209 goals, ranking them 18th overall. They have had 266 power play opportunities and have scored 55 goals on those chances for a percentage of 21%. That is 14th in the NHL. The Avalanche have allowed 248 power play opportunities and have given up 39 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 84%, putting them 1st in the league when short-handed. They average 29 shots per game and as a team shoot 10.92% for the season. They allow 33 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%. That puts them 8th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blackhawks are 24th in the NHL with a total of 69 points this year. They have 40 power play goals on 251 opportunities for a percentage of 16%. That ranks them 28th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 216 power play opportunities and have given up 43 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%. That is 17th in the NHL. As a team, the Blackhawks are 17th in the league with 208 goals scored while they've given up 223 goals, which is 11th overall. They average 34 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 8.32%. As a team they give up 33 shots per game and have a save percentage of 91%. That is 19th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Colorado has a Corsi percentage of 46.7% as they've tried 3,886 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 4,432 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 27th in Corsi percentage. They are 28th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 46.6% as they have 2,891 shots while they've given up 3,311 attempts on defense. The Avalanche start possessions in the offensive zone 49.1% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.9% for the year. That puts them 22nd and 6th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,854 face-off wins as opposed to 2,377 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 43.8%. That is 31st overall in the NHL. On defense Colorado has 1,384 hits and they've blocked 1,121 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 8th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Blackhawks are 2nd in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 56% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 44% for the season, which is 30th in the NHL. They have 2,242 face-off wins compared to 2,266 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.7%. That is 13th in the league. On defense Chicago has 1,231 hits and they have blocked 1,022 shots from the opposition, which is 21st in the league. Chicago is 4th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 52.8% as they've attempted 4,762 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,250 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 51.1% ranks 10th as they have 3,373 attempts while they have given up 3,228 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Chicago -105

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