San Jose Sharks at Chicago Blackhawks NHL Picks & Predictions 12/16/2018

Sunday, December 16, 2018

United Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The San Jose Sharks head to United Center to take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, December 16, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Sharks at -175 and the Blackhawks at +145.

San Jose has a record of 17-11-5 this year. They are 2nd in the Pacific Division. They've tallied 105 goals and surrendered 100 goals for a point differential of +5. For the year they have an ATS mark of 17-16-0 and an over/under record of 19-14-0. Chicago has a record of 10-18-6 this season. They are 7th in the Central Division. They have scored 96 goals and given up 128 for a goal differential of -32. Their record against the spread is 10-24-0 while their over/under mark is 19-13-0.

Valuable San Jose Sharks Betting Trends

The San Jose Sharks are 17-16-0 straight up this year

The San Jose Sharks are 19-14-0 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 San Jose Sharks Injuries

No key injuries to report

Key Chicago Blackhawks Injuries

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

Logan Couture has scored 32 total points this year for the Sharks. He has 10 goals this season with 84 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 22 assists on the year and averages 19.1 minutes played per contest. Brent Burns averages 23.5 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 4% by tallying 4 goals on 105 attempts. He has 27 assists, giving him a total of 31 points on the year. Martin Jones has 13 wins and 7 losses this season in goal for the Sharks. He has 654 shots against him and he's surrendered 65 goals. He's made 589 stops for a save percentage of 90%.

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 20.4 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 132 attempts. He has 22 assists, giving him a total of 37 points on the year. Corey Crawford has 6 wins and 14 losses this season in net for the Blackhawks. He has 714 shots against him and he's given up 69 goals. He's made 645 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sharks have 39 total points this year, which is 10th in the NHL. They've scored 105 goals while giving up 100 scores, which has them ranked 10th and 14th respectively. They have had 100 power play chances and scored 23 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 23%. That is 9th in the league. The Sharks have given up 91 power play opportunities and surrendered 14 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 85%, ranking them 3rd when short-handed. They average 35 shots per contest and as a team shoot 9.17% for the year. They allow 29 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 22nd 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 101 chances for a percentage of 12%. That is 31st in the NHL. They've given up 101 power play opportunities and surrendered 27 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 73%, ranking 30th overall. As a team, the Blackhawks are 18th with a total of 96 goals scored while they've given up 128 goals this season, ranking 1st in goals against. They average 32 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.78%. As a unit they give up 34 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 89%, putting them 28th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

San Jose is 2nd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 54.8%, as they've attempted 2,163 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,783 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 54.9% as they have 1,636 attempts while they have given up 1,342 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 2nd in the league. The Sharks start possessions in the offensive zone 54.3% of the time, which is 5th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 45.7% for the season. That is 27th overall in the NHL. They have 990 face-off wins compared to 992 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.9%. That ranks them 18th in the league. On defense San Jose has 580 hits and they have blocked 441 shots from the opposition, putting them 21st overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Blackhawks are 10th 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 989 face-off wins compared to 979 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.3%. That is 13th in the league. On defense Chicago has 533 hits and they have blocked 419 shots from the opposition, which is 26th in the league. Chicago is 12th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.6% as they've attempted 2,033 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,984 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 48.9% ranks 20th as they have 1,496 attempts while they have given up 1,565 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take San Jose -175

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