Montreal Canadiens at Chicago Blackhawks NHL Picks & Predictions 12/9/2018

Sunday, December 9, 2018

United Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Montreal Canadiens head to United Center to take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, December 9, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Canadiens at +100 and the Blackhawks at -125.

Montreal has a record of 14-10-5 this year. They are 4th in the Atlantic Division. They've tallied 93 goals and surrendered 92 goals for a point differential of +1. For the year they have an ATS mark of 14-15-0 and an over/under record of 15-13-0. Chicago has a record of 9-16-5 this season. They are 7th in the Central Division. They have scored 82 goals and given up 112 for a goal differential of -30. Their record against the spread is 9-21-0 while their over/under mark is 16-12-0.

Valuable Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends

The Montreal Canadiens are 14-15-0 straight up this year

The Montreal Canadiens are 15-13-0 against the over/under this season

Important Chicago Blackhawks Betting Trends

The Chicago Blackhawks are 9-21-0 straight up this year

The Chicago Blackhawks are 16-12-0 against the over/under this season

Key Montreal Canadiens Injuries

11/12/18 RW Joel Armia Knee is out indefinitely
11/07/18 LW Paul Byron Lower Body IR (11/07)
10/19/18 C Tomas Plekanec Back is out indefinitely
10/03/18 LW Nicolas Deslauriers Facial IR (10/03)

Key Chicago Blackhawks Injuries

12/07/18 D Gustav Forsling Shoulder is questionable Sunday vs Montreal
11/16/18 D Brandon Davidson Leg is out indefinitely
10/04/18 D Connor Murphy Back is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Tomas Tatar has scored 23 total points this year for the Canadiens. He has 11 goals this season with 73 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 12 assists on the year and averages 16.3 minutes played per contest. Max Domi averages 17.9 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 19% by tallying 13 goals on 68 attempts. He has 17 assists, giving him a total of 30 points on the year. Carey Price has 10 wins and 8 losses this season in goal for the Canadiens. He has 647 shots against him and he's surrendered 65 goals. He's made 582 stops for a save percentage of 90%.

Player Spotlight

Jonathan Toews has 24 total points this season for the Blackhawks. He has 13 goals this year with 83 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 11 assists on the year and averages 20.3 minutes played per contest. Patrick Kane averages 22.1 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 13 goals on 111 attempts. He has 19 assists, giving him a total of 32 points on the year. Corey Crawford has 5 wins and 13 losses this season in net for the Blackhawks. He has 601 shots against him and he's given up 59 goals. He's made 542 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canadiens have 33 total points this year, which is 12th in the NHL. They've scored 93 goals while giving up 92 scores, which has them ranked 10th and 9th respectively. They have had 99 power play chances and scored 14 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 14%. That is 29th in the league. The Canadiens have given up 92 power play opportunities and surrendered 20 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, ranking them 18th when short-handed. They average 34 shots per contest and as a team shoot 9.35% for the year. They allow 31 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 23rd in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blackhawks are 30th in the league with a total of 23 points this season. They have 10 power play goals on 87 chances for a percentage of 11%. That is 31st in the NHL. They've given up 86 power play opportunities and surrendered 23 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 73%, ranking 28th overall. As a team, the Blackhawks are 19th with a total of 82 goals scored while they've given up 112 goals this season, ranking 2nd in goals against. They average 32 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.60%. 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

Montreal is 5th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 53.4%, as they've attempted 1,871 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,631 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 52.6% as they have 1,337 attempts while they have given up 1,205 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 7th in the league. The Canadiens start possessions in the offensive zone 55.2% of the time, which is 4th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 44.8% for the season. That is 28th overall in the NHL. They have 840 face-off wins compared to 950 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 46.9%. That ranks them 30th in the league. On defense Montreal has 798 hits and they have blocked 426 shots from the opposition, putting them 9th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Blackhawks are 9th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 52.8% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 47.2% for the season, which is 24th in the NHL. They have 872 face-off wins compared to 870 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.1%. That is 16th in the league. On defense Chicago has 458 hits and they have blocked 378 shots from the opposition, which is 26th in the league. Chicago is 13th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.6% as they've attempted 1,796 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,755 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 49% ranks 19th as they have 1,321 attempts while they have given up 1,377 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Montreal +100

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