Colorado Avalanche at St. Louis Blues NHL Picks & Predictions 3/15/2018

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Scottrade Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Colorado Avalanche head to Scottrade Center to take on the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, March 15, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Avalanche at +153 and the Blues at -170.

Colorado has a record of 37-24-8 this year and away from home they have a record of 13-16-6-1. They are 4th in the Central Division. They have tallied 220 goals and surrendered 203 goals for a point differential of +17. For the year they have an ATS mark of 37-32-0 and an over/under record of 37-27-0. St. Louis has a record of 37-27-5 including 20-14-0-0 on home ice this year. They are 6th in the Central Division. They've scored 191 goals and have given up 182 for a goal differential of +9. Their record against the spread is 37-32-0 while their over/under mark is 27-41-0.

Valuable Colorado Avalanche Betting Trends

The Colorado Avalanche are 37-32-0 straight up this year

The Colorado Avalanche are 37-27-0 against the over/under this season

Important St. Louis Blues Betting Trends

The St. Louis Blues are 37-32-0 straight up this year

The St. Louis Blues are 27-41-0 against the over/under this season

Key Colorado Avalanche Injuries

12/18/17 D Sergei Boikov Shoulder is out indefinitely
03/13/18 C Colin Wilson Concussion is "?" Thursday vs St. Louis
03/13/18 C Vladislav Kamenev Arm is "?" Thursday vs St. Louis
03/12/18 GO Jonathan Bernier Concussion is out indefinitely
03/04/18 GO Andrew Hammond Concussion IR (02/26)
02/19/18 D Erik Johnson Upper Body IR (02/18)
01/30/18 D Mark Barberio Lower Body IR (01/24)

Key St. Louis Blues Injuries

09/27/17 C Robby Fabbri ACL IR (10/01)
03/12/18 GO Carter Hutton Neck is "?" Thursday vs Colorado
03/05/18 D Jay Bouwmeester Hip is out for season
03/05/18 RW Scottie Upshall MCL is out indefinitely
02/09/18 D Joel Edmundson Forearm IR (02/08)

Player Spotlight

Mikko Rantanen has scored 70 total points this year for the Avalanche. He has 23 goals this season with 147 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 47 assists on the year and averages 18.7 minutes played per contest. Nathan MacKinnon averages 19.6 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by tallying 33 goals on 227 attempts. He has 49 assists, giving him a total of 82 points on the year. Semyon Varlamov has 19 wins and 13 losses this season in goal for the Avalanche. He has 1,321 shots against him and he's surrendered 113 goals. He's made 1,208 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Vladimir Tarasenko has 58 total points this season for the Blues. He has 27 goals this year with 267 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 31 assists on the year and averages 19.5 minutes played per contest. Brayden Schenn averages 19.6 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 24 goals on 168 attempts. He has 34 assists, giving him a total of 58 points on the year. Jake Allen has 21 wins and 20 losses this season in net for the Blues. He has 1,306 shots against him and he's given up 121 goals. He's made 1,185 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Avalanche have 82 total points this year, which is 11th in the NHL. They've scored 220 goals while giving up 203 scores, which has them ranked 9th and 17th respectively. They have had 257 power play chances and scored 54 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 21%. That is 11th in the league. The Avalanche have given up 239 power play opportunities and surrendered 39 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 84%, ranking them 3rd when short-handed. They average 29 shots per contest and as a team shoot 10.85% for the year. They allow 33 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 13th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blues are 18th in the league with a total of 79 points this season. They have 33 power play goals on 218 chances for a percentage of 15%. That is 30th in the NHL. They've given up 206 power play opportunities and surrendered 39 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, ranking 14th overall. As a team, the Blues are 25th with a total of 191 goals scored while they've given up 182 goals this season, ranking 28th in goals against. They average 33 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.47%. As a unit they give up 30 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 10th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Colorado is 28th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 46.9%, as they've attempted 3,736 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,233 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 46.8% as they have 2,775 attempts while they have given up 3,159 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 28th in the league. The Avalanche start possessions in the offensive zone 49% of the time, which is 22nd in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 51% for the season. That is 5th overall in the NHL. They have 1,786 face-off wins compared to 2,284 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 43.9%. That ranks them 31st in the league. On defense Colorado has 1,328 hits and they have blocked 1,074 shots from the opposition, putting them 10th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Blues are 19th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 50% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 50% for the season, which is 13th in the NHL. They have 2,066 face-off wins compared to 2,056 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.1%. That is 18th in the league. On defense St. Louis has 1,546 hits and they have blocked 1,082 shots from the opposition, which is 9th in the league. St. Louis is 13th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.8% as they've attempted 4,042 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,918 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 52.1% ranks 9th as they have 3,079 attempts while they have given up 2,836 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Colorado +153

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