New Jersey Devils at Columbus Blue Jackets NHL Picks & Predictions 12/20/2018

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Nationwide Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The New Jersey Devils travel to Nationwide Arena to play the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, December 20, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Devils at +150 and the Blue Jackets at -180.

New Jersey has a record of 11-14-7 this season. They are 8th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 96 goals and given up 118 goals for a point differential of -22. For the season they have an ATS record of 11-20-0 and an over/under record of 19-10-0. Columbus is 18-12-3 this season. They are 2nd in the Metropolitan Division. They have scored 108 goals and surrendered 105 for a goal differential of +3. Their record against the spread is 18-15-0 while their over/under record is 12-18-0.

Valuable New Jersey Devils Betting Trends

The New Jersey Devils are 11-20-0 straight up this year

The New Jersey Devils are 19-10-0 against the over/under this season

Important Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Trends

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 18-15-0 straight up this year

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 12-18-0 against the over/under this season

Key New Jersey Devils Injuries

12/17/18 GO Cory Schneider Abdominal is out indefinitely
12/15/18 RW Stefan Noesen Undisclosed IR (12/15)

Key Columbus Blue Jackets Injuries

12/18/18 LW Artemi Panarin Lower Body is questionable Thursday vs New Jersey

Player Spotlight

Taylor Hall has accumulated 32 total points this season for the Devils. He has 8 goals this year with 98 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 8%. He has a total of 24 assists on the season and averages 19.7 minutes played per game. Kyle Palmieri averages 18.3 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 17% by scoring 17 goals on 100 shots. He has 12 assists, giving him a total of 29 points on the season. Keith Kinkaid has 11 wins and 9 losses this season in net for the Devils. He has 787 shots against him and he's given up 77 goals. He's made 710 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Player Spotlight

Cam Atkinson has scored 34 total points this year for the Blue Jackets. He has 19 goals this season with 126 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 15 assists on the season and averages 19.2 minutes played per game. Artemi Panarin averages 19.9 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 11% by scoring 9 goals on 86 shots. He has 25 assists, giving him a total of 34 points on the season. Sergei Bobrovsky has 13 wins and 10 losses this year in goal for the Blue Jackets. He has 687 shots against him and he's surrendered 65 goals. He's made 622 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Devils have 29 total points this season, which ranks them 29th in the NHL. They are 23rd in the league in goals scored with 96 while they've given up 118 goals, ranking them 6th overall. They have had 105 power play opportunities and have scored 19 goals on those chances for a percentage of 18%. That is 21st in the NHL. The Devils have allowed 101 power play opportunities and have given up 18 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, putting them 9th in the league when short-handed. They average 33 shots per game and as a team shoot 9.01% for the season. They allow 31 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 88%. That puts them 30th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blue Jackets are 14th in the NHL with a total of 39 points this year. They have 16 power play goals on 106 opportunities for a percentage of 15%. That ranks them 27th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 94 power play opportunities and have given up 19 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%. That is 16th in the NHL. As a team, the Blue Jackets are 12th in the league with 108 goals scored while they've given up 105 goals, which is 14th overall. They average 33 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 9.99%. As a team they give up 30 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 24th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

New Jersey is 17th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50%, as they've attempted 1,857 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,855 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 50.7% as they have 1,461 attempts while they have given up 1,420 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 12th in the league. The Devils start possessions in the offensive zone 48.6% of the time, which is 22nd in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 51.4% for the season. That is 9th overall in the NHL. They have 967 face-off wins compared to 1,083 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.2%. That ranks them 31st in the league. On defense New Jersey has 681 hits and they have blocked 435 shots from the opposition, putting them 28th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Blue Jackets are 11th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 52.1% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 47.9% for the season, which is 21st in the NHL. They have 981 face-off wins compared to 1,024 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.9%. That is 20th in the league. On defense Columbus has 606 hits and they have blocked 463 shots from the opposition, which is 21st in the league. Columbus is 14th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.5% as they've attempted 1,867 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,833 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 52% ranks 9th as they have 1,485 attempts while they have given up 1,370 shots on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's Devils/Blue Jackets NHL game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take Columbus -180

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