Montreal Canadiens at Colorado Avalanche NHL Picks & Predictions 12/19/2018

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Pepsi Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Montreal Canadiens head to Pepsi Center to take on the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday, December 19, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Canadiens at +136 and the Avalanche at -150.

Montreal has a record of 17-12-5 this year. They are 5th in the Atlantic Division. They've tallied 108 goals and surrendered 111 goals for a point differential of -3. For the year they have an ATS mark of 17-16-0 and an over/under record of 18-14-0. Colorado has a record of 18-10-6 this season. They are 3rd in the Central Division. They have scored 122 goals and given up 106 for a goal differential of +16. Their record against the spread is 18-15-0 while their over/under mark is 19-14-0.

Valuable Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends

The Montreal Canadiens are 17-16-0 straight up this year

The Montreal Canadiens are 18-14-0 against the over/under this season

Important Colorado Avalanche Betting Trends

The Colorado Avalanche are 18-15-0 straight up this year

The Colorado Avalanche are 19-14-0 against the over/under this season

Key Montreal Canadiens Injuries

12/17/18 D Jordie Benn Undisclosed is questionable Wednesday vs Colorado
11/12/18 RW Joel Armia Knee is out indefinitely

Key Colorado Avalanche Injuries

12/17/18 C Alexander Kerfoot Upper Body is questionable Wednesday vs Montreal
12/11/18 C Vladislav Kamenev Shoulder is out indefinitely
10/04/18 D Conor Timmins Concussion is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Max Domi has scored 33 total points this year for the Canadiens. He has 14 goals this season with 79 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 18%. He has a total of 19 assists on the year and averages 17.8 minutes played per contest. Tomas Tatar averages 16.3 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by tallying 12 goals on 82 attempts. He has 12 assists, giving him a total of 24 points on the year. Carey Price has 13 wins and 9 losses this season in goal for the Canadiens. He has 779 shots against him and he's surrendered 77 goals. He's made 702 stops for a save percentage of 90%.

Player Spotlight

Mikko Rantanen has 56 total points this season for the Avalanche. He has 15 goals this year with 87 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 17%. He has a total of 41 assists on the year and averages 21 minutes played per contest. Nathan MacKinnon averages 22 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 21 goals on 151 attempts. He has 32 assists, giving him a total of 53 points on the year. 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%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canadiens have 39 total points this year, which is 13th in the NHL. They've scored 108 goals while giving up 111 scores, which has them ranked 11th and 7th respectively. They have had 117 power play chances and scored 14 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 12%. That is 30th in the league. The Canadiens have given up 110 power play opportunities and surrendered 26 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 76%, ranking them 24th when short-handed. They average 34 shots per contest and as a team shoot 9.29% for the year. They allow 31 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 89%, which is 26th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Avalanche are 9th in the league with a total of 42 points this season. They have 35 power play goals on 119 chances for a percentage of 29%. That is 3rd in the NHL. They've given up 123 power play opportunities and surrendered 28 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%, ranking 23rd overall. As a team, the Avalanche are 3rd with a total of 122 goals scored while they've given up 106 goals this season, ranking 12th in goals against. They average 32 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 11.24%. As a unit they give up 32 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 15th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Montreal is 5th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 53.5%, as they've attempted 2,185 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,901 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 52.6% as they have 1,566 attempts while they have given up 1,409 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 3rd in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 44.8% for the season. That is 28th overall in the NHL. They have 981 face-off wins compared to 1,099 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.2%. That ranks them 30th in the league. On defense Montreal has 949 hits and they have blocked 492 shots from the opposition, putting them 9th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Avalanche are 9th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 53% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 47% for the season, which is 23rd in the NHL. They have 996 face-off wins compared to 1,096 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.6%. That is 28th in the league. On defense Colorado has 648 hits and they have blocked 524 shots from the opposition, which is 4th in the league. Colorado is 23rd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.5% as they've attempted 1,895 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,011 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 48.9% ranks 21st as they have 1,425 attempts while they have given up 1,487 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Montreal +136

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