Montreal Canadiens at Vegas Golden Knights NHL Picks & Predictions 12/22/2018

Saturday, December 22, 2018

T-Mobile Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Montreal Canadiens head to T-Mobile Arena to take on the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, December 22, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Canadiens at +148 and the Golden Knights at -195.

Montreal has a record of 18-13-5 this year. They are 5th in the Atlantic Division. They've tallied 111 goals and surrendered 114 goals for a point differential of -3. For the year they have an ATS mark of 17-18-0 and an over/under record of 18-16-0. Vegas has a record of 20-15-2 this season. They are 4th in the Pacific Division. They have scored 111 goals and given up 104 for a goal differential of +7. Their record against the spread is 19-17-0 while their over/under mark is 17-18-0.

Valuable Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends

The Montreal Canadiens are 17-18-0 straight up this year

The Montreal Canadiens are 18-16-0 against the over/under this season

Important Vegas Golden Knights Betting Trends

The Vegas Golden Knights are 19-17-0 straight up this year

The Vegas Golden Knights are 17-18-0 against the over/under this season

Key Montreal Canadiens Injuries

11/12/18 RW Joel Armia Knee is out indefinitely

Key Vegas Golden Knights Injuries

12/20/18 D Colin Miller Undisclosed is questionable Saturday vs Montreal
12/19/18 LW Max Pacioretty Lower Body IR (12/19)
11/07/18 LW Erik Haula Knee is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Tomas Tatar has scored 24 total points this year for the Canadiens. He has 12 goals this season with 84 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 12 assists on the year and averages 16.2 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 17% by tallying 14 goals on 82 attempts. He has 19 assists, giving him a total of 33 points on the year. Carey Price has 14 wins and 10 losses this season in goal for the Canadiens. He has 842 shots against him and he's surrendered 80 goals. He's made 762 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Jon Marchessault has 27 total points this season for the Golden Knights. He has 12 goals this year with 134 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 9%. He has a total of 15 assists on the year and averages 19.1 minutes played per contest. William Karlsson averages 19.3 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 18% by scoring 14 goals on 78 attempts. He has 13 assists, giving him a total of 27 points on the year. Marc-Andre Fleury has 20 wins and 10 losses this season in net for the Golden Knights. He has 871 shots against him and he's given up 81 goals. He's made 790 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canadiens have 41 total points this year, which is 13th in the NHL. They've scored 111 goals while giving up 114 scores, which has them ranked 11th and 8th respectively. They have had 124 power play chances and scored 16 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 13%. That is 29th in the league. The Canadiens have given up 118 power play opportunities and surrendered 27 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%, ranking them 24th when short-handed. They average 34 shots per contest and as a team shoot 9.05% 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 Golden Knights are 12th in the league with a total of 42 points this season. They have 25 power play goals on 117 chances for a percentage of 21%. That is 13th in the NHL. They've given up 109 power play opportunities and surrendered 18 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, ranking 5th overall. As a team, the Golden Knights are 12th with a total of 111 goals scored while they've given up 104 goals this season, ranking 18th in goals against. They average 33 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 9.20%. As a unit they give up 28 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 20th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Montreal is 5th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 53.6%, as they've attempted 2,316 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,006 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 52.5% as they have 1,654 attempts while they have given up 1,494 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 7th in the league. The Canadiens start possessions in the offensive zone 55.1% of the time, which is 3rd in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 44.9% for the season. That is 28th overall in the NHL. They have 1,041 face-off wins compared to 1,165 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.2%. That ranks them 31st in the league. On defense Montreal has 1,002 hits and they have blocked 512 shots from the opposition, putting them 11th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Golden Knights are 6th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 54.4% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 45.6% for the season, which is 26th in the NHL. They have 1,064 face-off wins compared to 1,147 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.1%. That is 24th in the league. On defense Vegas has 999 hits and they have blocked 483 shots from the opposition, which is 20th in the league. Vegas is 3rd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 54.9% as they've attempted 2,335 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,920 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 54.1% ranks 3rd as they have 1,695 attempts while they have given up 1,437 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Montreal +148

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Read more articles by Josh Schonwald