Nashville Predators at Chicago Blackhawks NHL Picks & Predictions 12/18/2018

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

United Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Nashville Predators head to United Center to take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, December 18, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Predators at -180 and the Blackhawks at +138.

Nashville has a record of 22-10-1 this year. They are 2nd in the Central Division. They've tallied 104 goals and surrendered 82 goals for a point differential of +22. For the year they have an ATS mark of 22-11-0 and an over/under record of 15-17-0. Chicago has a record of 10-19-6 this season. They are 7th in the Central Division. They have scored 99 goals and given up 135 for a goal differential of -36. Their record against the spread is 10-24-0 while their over/under mark is 19-13-0.

Valuable Nashville Predators Betting Trends

The Nashville Predators are 22-11-0 straight up this year

The Nashville Predators are 15-17-0 against the over/under this season

Important Chicago Blackhawks Betting Trends

The Chicago Blackhawks are 10-24-0 straight up this year

The Chicago Blackhawks are 19-13-0 against the over/under this season

Key Nashville Predators Injuries

12/02/18 LW Filip Forsberg Upper Body is out 4-6 weeks
11/15/18 D P.K. Subban Undisclosed IR (11/15)
11/12/18 LW Viktor Arvidsson Upper Body IR (11/12)

Key Chicago Blackhawks Injuries

12/17/18 GO Corey Crawford Concussion is downgraded to doubtful Tuesday vs Nashville
12/12/18 C Artem Anisimov Concussion IR (12/09)
12/08/18 D Gustav Forsling Shoulder IR (12/08)
11/16/18 D Brandon Davidson Leg is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Ryan Johansen has scored 26 total points this year for the Predators. He has 5 goals this season with 55 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 9%. He has a total of 21 assists on the year and averages 19.5 minutes played per contest. Roman Josi averages 25.3 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 4% by tallying 5 goals on 122 attempts. He has 18 assists, giving him a total of 23 points on the year. Pekka Rinne has 14 wins and 5 losses this season in goal for the Predators. He has 580 shots against him and he's surrendered 41 goals. He's made 539 stops for a save percentage of 93%.

Player Spotlight

Jonathan Toews has 30 total points this season for the Blackhawks. He has 16 goals this year with 93 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 17%. He has a total of 14 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 11% by scoring 15 goals on 134 attempts. He has 23 assists, giving him a total of 38 points on the year. Cam Ward has 4 wins and 5 losses this season in net for the Blackhawks. He has 470 shots against him and he's given up 55 goals. He's made 415 saves for a save percentage of 88%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Predators have 45 total points this year, which is 5th in the NHL. They've scored 104 goals while giving up 82 scores, which has them ranked 15th and 31st respectively. They have had 111 power play chances and scored 16 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 14%. That is 27th in the league. The Predators have given up 107 power play opportunities and surrendered 19 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, ranking them 9th when short-handed. They average 32 shots per contest and as a team shoot 9.82% for the year. They allow 28 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 4th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blackhawks are 30th in the league with a total of 26 points this season. They have 12 power play goals on 105 chances for a percentage of 11%. That is 31st in the NHL. They've given up 103 power play opportunities and surrendered 29 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 72%, ranking 31st overall. As a team, the Blackhawks are 18th with a total of 99 goals scored while they've given up 135 goals this season, ranking 1st in goals against. They average 32 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.89%. As a unit they give up 34 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 89%, putting them 29th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Nashville is 6th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 53.4%, as they've attempted 1,942 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,698 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 53.7% as they have 1,476 attempts while they have given up 1,275 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 4th in the league. The Predators start possessions in the offensive zone 52.8% of the time, which is 9th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.2% for the season. That is 22nd overall in the NHL. They have 1,079 face-off wins compared to 981 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52.4%. That ranks them 2nd in the league. On defense Nashville has 573 hits and they have blocked 423 shots from the opposition, putting them 28th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Blackhawks are 8th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 52.9% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 47.1% for the season, which is 24th in the NHL. They have 1,017 face-off wins compared to 1,007 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.2%. That is 14th in the league. On defense Chicago has 556 hits and they have blocked 433 shots from the opposition, which is 25th in the league. Chicago is 16th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.3% as they've attempted 2,072 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,050 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 48.4% ranks 24th as they have 1,519 attempts while they have given up 1,617 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Nashville -180

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