Montreal Canadiens at Dallas Stars NHL Picks & Predictions 12/31/2018

Monday, December 31, 2018

American Airlines Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Montreal Canadiens head to American Airlines Center to take on the Dallas Stars on Monday, December 31, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Canadiens at +130 and the Stars at -155.

Montreal has a record of 20-14-5 this year. They are 5th in the Atlantic Division. They've tallied 125 goals and surrendered 126 goals for a point differential of -1. For the year they have an ATS mark of 20-19-0 and an over/under record of 21-17-0. Dallas has a record of 20-16-3 this season. They are 4th in the Central Division. They have scored 106 goals and given up 103 for a goal differential of +3. Their record against the spread is 20-19-0 while their over/under mark is 14-21-0.

Valuable Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends

The Montreal Canadiens are 20-19-0 straight up this year

The Montreal Canadiens are 21-17-0 against the over/under this season

Important Dallas Stars Betting Trends

The Dallas Stars are 20-19-0 straight up this year

The Dallas Stars are 14-21-0 against the over/under this season

Key Montreal Canadiens Injuries

12/27/18 GO Carey Price Lower Body is out for season
12/26/18 D David Schlemko Upper Body IR (12/26)
11/12/18 RW Joel Armia Knee is out indefinitely

Key Dallas Stars Injuries

12/29/18 C Jason Dickinson Back is questionable Monday vs Montreal
12/29/18 C Martin Hanzal Back is questionable Monday vs Montreal
11/19/18 D Marc Methot Lower Body IR (11/19)
11/02/18 D Connor Carrick Foot IR (11/02)
10/03/18 D Stephen Johns Head IR (10/03)

Player Spotlight

Tomas Tatar has scored 30 total points this year for the Canadiens. He has 14 goals this season with 95 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 16 assists on the year and averages 16.3 minutes played per contest. Max Domi averages 17.8 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by tallying 14 goals on 91 attempts. He has 22 assists, giving him a total of 36 points on the year. Carey Price has 15 wins and 10 losses this season in goal for the Canadiens. He has 868 shots against him and he's surrendered 83 goals. He's made 785 stops for a save percentage of 90%.

Player Spotlight

Tyler Seguin has 33 total points this season for the Stars. He has 11 goals this year with 147 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 8%. He has a total of 22 assists on the year and averages 21 minutes played per contest. Jamie Benn averages 18.7 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by scoring 15 goals on 94 attempts. He has 15 assists, giving him a total of 30 points on the year. Ben Bishop has 13 wins and 9 losses this season in net for the Stars. He has 698 shots against him and he's given up 52 goals. He's made 646 saves for a save percentage of 93%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canadiens have 45 total points this year, which is 13th in the NHL. They've scored 125 goals while giving up 126 scores, which has them ranked 9th and 8th respectively. They have had 132 power play chances and scored 18 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 14%. That is 29th in the league. The Canadiens have given up 126 power play opportunities and surrendered 29 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%, ranking them 25th when short-handed. They average 34 shots per contest and as a team shoot 9.34% 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 Stars are 17th in the league with a total of 43 points this season. They have 20 power play goals on 100 chances for a percentage of 20%. That is 17th in the NHL. They've given up 120 power play opportunities and surrendered 21 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, ranking 9th overall. As a team, the Stars are 26th with a total of 106 goals scored while they've given up 103 goals this season, ranking 29th in goals against. They average 30 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 9.15%. As a unit they give up 31 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 92%, putting them 1st overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Montreal is 5th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 53.8%, as they've attempted 2,526 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,170 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 52.9% as they have 1,817 attempts while they have given up 1,615 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 6th in the league. The Canadiens start possessions in the offensive zone 54.3% of the time, which is 6th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 45.7% for the season. That is 26th overall in the NHL. They have 1,129 face-off wins compared to 1,260 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.3%. That ranks them 31st in the league. On defense Montreal has 1,072 hits and they have blocked 555 shots from the opposition, putting them 13th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Stars are 31st in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 46.3% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 53.7% for the season, which is 1st in the NHL. They have 1,222 face-off wins compared to 1,129 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52%. That is 7th in the league. On defense Dallas has 877 hits and they have blocked 607 shots from the opposition, which is 4th in the league. Dallas is 26th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 46.7% as they've attempted 2,045 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,337 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 47.2% ranks 26th as they have 1,548 attempts while they have given up 1,730 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Montreal +130

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