Minnesota Wild at Chicago Blackhawks NHL Picks & Predictions 12/27/2018

Thursday, December 27, 2018

United Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Minnesota Wild head to United Center to take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, December 27, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Wild at -143 and the Blackhawks at -105.

Minnesota has a record of 17-15-3 this year. They are 5th in the Central Division. They've tallied 103 goals and surrendered 99 goals for a point differential of +4. For the year they have an ATS mark of 17-18-0 and an over/under record of 15-16-0. Chicago has a record of 13-20-6 this season. They are 7th in the Central Division. They have scored 111 goals and given up 145 for a goal differential of -34. Their record against the spread is 13-25-0 while their over/under mark is 21-15-0.

Valuable Minnesota Wild Betting Trends

The Minnesota Wild are 17-18-0 straight up this year

The Minnesota Wild are 15-16-0 against the over/under this season

Important Chicago Blackhawks Betting Trends

The Chicago Blackhawks are 13-25-0 straight up this year

The Chicago Blackhawks are 21-15-0 against the over/under this season

Key Minnesota Wild Injuries

12/17/18 D Matt Dumba Upper Body is out indefinitely

Key Chicago Blackhawks Injuries

12/18/18 GO Corey Crawford Concussion IR (12/18)
12/12/18 C Artem Anisimov Concussion IR (12/09)
12/08/18 D Gustav Forsling Shoulder IR (12/08)
11/16/18 D Brandon Davidson Leg is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Jason Zucker has scored 20 total points this year for the Wild. He has 10 goals this season with 98 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 10 assists on the year and averages 17.2 minutes played per contest. Zach Parise averages 18.4 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by tallying 15 goals on 98 attempts. He has 14 assists, giving him a total of 29 points on the year. Devan Dubnyk has 12 wins and 12 losses this season in goal for the Wild. He has 808 shots against him and he's surrendered 70 goals. He's made 738 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Patrick Kane has 44 total points this season for the Blackhawks. He has 17 goals this year with 151 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 27 assists on the year and averages 21.9 minutes played per contest. Jonathan Toews averages 20.2 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by scoring 16 goals on 99 attempts. He has 16 assists, giving him a total of 32 points on the year. Cam Ward has 6 wins and 6 losses this season in net for the Blackhawks. He has 555 shots against him and he's given up 63 goals. He's made 492 saves for a save percentage of 89%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Wild have 37 total points this year, which is 20th in the NHL. They've scored 103 goals while giving up 99 scores, which has them ranked 21st and 28th respectively. They have had 108 power play chances and scored 25 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 23%. That is 9th in the league. The Wild have given up 105 power play opportunities and surrendered 14 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 87%, ranking them 2nd when short-handed. They average 32 shots per contest and as a team shoot 9.29% for the year. They allow 30 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 14th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blackhawks are 29th in the league with a total of 32 points this season. They have 15 power play goals on 115 chances for a percentage of 13%. That is 30th in the NHL. They've given up 114 power play opportunities and surrendered 30 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 74%, ranking 31st overall. As a team, the Blackhawks are 17th with a total of 111 goals scored while they've given up 145 goals this season, ranking 1st in goals against. They average 32 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.98%. As a unit they give up 34 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 89%, putting them 28th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Minnesota is 19th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.5%, as they've attempted 1,969 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,007 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 50.3% as they have 1,496 attempts while they have given up 1,478 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 13th in the league. The Wild start possessions in the offensive zone 50.6% of the time, which is 16th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.4% for the season. That is 16th overall in the NHL. They have 1,088 face-off wins compared to 1,050 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.9%. That ranks them 12th in the league. On defense Minnesota has 670 hits and they have blocked 529 shots from the opposition, putting them 13th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Blackhawks are 11th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 52% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 48% for the season, which is 21st in the NHL. They have 1,123 face-off wins compared to 1,121 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50%. That is 18th in the league. On defense Chicago has 614 hits and they have blocked 495 shots from the opposition, which is 24th in the league. Chicago is 17th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.7% as they've attempted 2,269 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,294 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 48.1% ranks 24th as they have 1,666 attempts while they have given up 1,799 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Chicago -105

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