Minnesota Wild at Colorado Avalanche NHL Picks & Predictions 1/6/2018

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Pepsi Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Minnesota Wild travel to Pepsi Center to play the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, January 6, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Wild at -125 and the Avalanche at +113.

Minnesota has a record of 22-16-3 this season and on the road they have a record of 8-12-1-1. They are 5th in the Central Division. They've scored 121 goals and given up 116 goals for a point differential of +5. For the season they have an ATS record of 22-19-0 and an over/under record of 22-17-0. Colorado has a record of 21-16-3 including 14-7-1-0 at home this season. They are 6th in the Central Division. They've scored 128 goals and surrendered 122 for a goal differential of +6. Their record against the spread is 21-19-0 while their over/under record is 23-16-0.

Valuable Minnesota Wild Betting Trends

The Minnesota Wild are 22-19-0 straight up this year

The Minnesota Wild are 22-17-0 against the over/under this season

Important Colorado Avalanche Betting Trends

The Colorado Avalanche are 21-19-0 straight up this year

The Colorado Avalanche are 23-16-0 against the over/under this season

Key Minnesota Wild Injuries

No key injuries to report

Key Colorado Avalanche Injuries

12/27/17 D Tyson Barrie Hand IR (12/23)
12/18/17 D Sergei Boikov Shoulder is out indefinitely
11/19/17 C Vladislav Kamenev Arm IR (11/16)
01/05/18 RW Sven Andrighetto Leg is "?" Saturday vs Minnesota
01/03/18 GO Semyon Varlamov Muscle Pull is out indefinitely
01/01/18 LW J.T. Compher Upper Body IR (01/02)

Player Spotlight

Devan Dubnyk has 15 wins and 8 losses this season in net for the Wild. He has 799 shots against him and he's given up 64 goals. He's made 735 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Jason Zucker has accumulated 28 total points this season for the Wild. He has 15 goals this year with 100 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 13 assists on the season and averages 17.3 minutes played per game. Eric Staal averages 18.3 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 17 goals on 118 shots. He has 18 assists, giving him a total of 35 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Mikko Rantanen has scored 38 total points this year for the Avalanche. He has 14 goals this season with 95 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 24 assists on the season and averages 18.6 minutes played per game. Jonathan Bernier has 8 wins and 7 losses this year in goal for the Avalanche. He has 467 shots against him and he's surrendered 44 goals. He's made 423 saves for a save percentage of 91%. Nathan MacKinnon averages 19.5 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by scoring 17 goals on 130 shots. He has 32 assists, giving him a total of 49 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Wild have allowed 159 power play opportunities and have given up 25 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 84% this year. That is 4th in the NHL. They average 29 shots per game and as a team shoot 10.07% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is ranked 13th in the league. The Wild has 47 total points this season, ranking 14th in the NHL in offense. They are 14th in the league with 121 goals while they've given up 116 goals, which is 21st overall. They have had 124 power play opportunities and scored 24 goals on those chances for a percentage of 19%. That is 15th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Avalanche are 6th with 128 goals scored while they are 10th in the NHL with 122 goals allowed this year. They average 30 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 10.64%. They give up 32 shots per game and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them in 20th place in the league. The Avalanche have a total of 45 points this year, which is 18th in the NHL. They have 32 power play goals on 161 opportunities for a percentage of 20%. That ranks their power play unit 14th. They've allowed 145 power play opportunities and have given up 23 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 84%, which is 5th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Minnesota has a Corsi percentage of 45.8% as they've tried 2,107 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,494 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 31st in Corsi percentage. They are 29th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 47.1% as they have 1,634 shots while they've given up 1,838 attempts on defense. The Wild start possessions in the offensive zone 47.2% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 52.8% for the year. That puts them 28th and 3rd in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,232 face-off wins as opposed to 1,213 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.4%. That is 18th overall in the NHL. On defense Minnesota has 702 hits and they've blocked 656 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 3rd in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Avalanche start possessions in the offensive zone 49.4% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.6% for the year. That ranks them 22nd and 9th respectively in the NHL. They have 1,106 face-off wins as opposed to 1,345 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 45.1%. That is 31st in the league. On defense Colorado has 710 hits and they've blocked 631 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 6th in blocked shots. Colorado is ranked 25th in Corsi percentage with 47.9% as they've tried 2,211 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,403 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 23rd in the NHL at 48%, as they have 1,635 shots while they've given up 1,772 attempts on defense.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Colorado +113

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