Colorado Avalanche at Vegas Golden Knights NHL Picks & Predictions 12/27/2018

Thursday, December 27, 2018

T-Mobile Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Colorado Avalanche travel to T-Mobile Arena to play the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, December 27, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Avalanche at +120 and the Golden Knights at -150.

Colorado has a record of 19-12-6 this season. They are 3rd in the Central Division. They have scored 129 goals and given up 115 goals for a point differential of +14. For the season they have an ATS record of 19-18-0 and an over/under record of 20-17-0. Vegas has a record of 20-15-4 this year. They are 3rd in the Pacific Division. They've scored 117 goals and surrendered 112 for a goal differential of +5. Their record against the spread is 20-18-0 while their over/under record is 18-18-0.

Valuable Colorado Avalanche Betting Trends

The Colorado Avalanche are 19-18-0 straight up this year

The Colorado Avalanche are 20-17-0 against the over/under this season

Important Vegas Golden Knights Betting Trends

The Vegas Golden Knights are 20-18-0 straight up this year

The Vegas Golden Knights are 18-18-0 against the over/under this season

Key Colorado Avalanche Injuries

12/23/18 D Nikita Zadorov Lower Body is questionable Thursday vs Vegas
12/23/18 GO Semyon Varlamov Illness is questionable Thursday vs Vegas
12/22/18 C Colin Wilson Shoulder is out indefinitely
12/11/18 C Vladislav Kamenev Shoulder is out indefinitely
10/04/18 D Conor Timmins Concussion is out indefinitely

Key Vegas Golden Knights Injuries

12/24/18 D Colin Miller Undisclosed is questionable Thursday vs Colorado
12/19/18 LW Max Pacioretty Lower Body IR (12/19)
11/07/18 LW Erik Haula Knee is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

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%. Mikko Rantanen has accumulated 59 total points this season for the Avalanche. He has 16 goals this year with 95 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 17%. He has a total of 43 assists on the season and averages 21 minutes played per game. Nathan MacKinnon averages 22 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 22 goals on 163 shots. He has 34 assists, giving him a total of 56 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

William Karlsson has scored 29 total points this year for the Golden Knights. He has 14 goals this season with 80 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 18%. He has a total of 15 assists on the season and averages 19.3 minutes played per game. Marc-Andre Fleury has 20 wins and 10 losses this year in goal for the Golden Knights. He has 950 shots against him and he's surrendered 89 goals. He's made 861 saves for a save percentage of 91%. Jon Marchessault averages 19.2 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 9% by scoring 13 goals on 140 shots. He has 16 assists, giving him a total of 29 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Avalanche have allowed 132 power play opportunities and have given up 29 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78% this year. That is 22nd in the NHL. They average 32 shots per game and as a team shoot 10.98% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is ranked 16th in the league. The Avalanche have 44 total points this season, ranking 11th in the NHL in offense. They are 4th in the league with 129 goals while they've given up 115 goals, which is 10th overall. They have had 132 power play opportunities and scored 36 goals on those chances for a percentage of 27%. That is 4th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Golden Knights are 11th with 117 goals scored while they are 13th in the NHL with 112 goals allowed this year. They average 32 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 9.30%. They give up 28 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them in 20th place in the league. The Golden Knights have a total of 44 points this year, which is 12th in the NHL. They have 26 power play goals on 120 opportunities for a percentage of 22%. That ranks their power play unit 13th. They've allowed 113 power play opportunities and have given up 19 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, which is 7th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Colorado is 23rd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.4%, as they've attempted 2,065 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,202 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 48.9% as they have 1,555 attempts while they have given up 1,625 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 22nd in the league. The Avalanche start possessions in the offensive zone 52.8% of the time, which is 9th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.2% for the season. That is 23rd overall in the NHL. They have 1,093 face-off wins compared to 1,184 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48%. That ranks them 25th in the league. On defense Colorado has 703 hits and they have blocked 577 shots from the opposition, putting them 3rd overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Golden Knights are 7th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 54.2% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 45.8% for the season, which is 25th in the NHL. They have 1,121 face-off wins compared to 1,199 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.3%. That is 22nd in the league. On defense Vegas has 1,058 hits and they have blocked 520 shots from the opposition, which is 16th in the league. Vegas is 3rd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 54.2% as they've attempted 2,446 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,067 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 53.4% ranks 3rd as they have 1,773 attempts while they have given up 1,547 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Vegas -150

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