Vancouver Canucks at Calgary Flames NHL Picks & Predictions 12/29/2018

Saturday, December 29, 2018

Scotiabank Saddledome

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Vancouver Canucks travel to Scotiabank Saddledome to play the Calgary Flames on Saturday, December 29, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Canucks at +175 and the Flames at -195.

Vancouver has a record of 18-18-4 this season. They are 5th in the Pacific Division. They've scored 121 goals and given up 127 goals for a point differential of -6. For the season they have an ATS record of 18-22-0 and an over/under record of 19-18-0. Calgary is 23-12-3 this season. They are 1st in the Pacific Division. They have scored 131 goals and surrendered 104 for a goal differential of +27. Their record against the spread is 23-15-0 while their over/under record is 18-19-0.

Valuable Vancouver Canucks Betting Trends

The Vancouver Canucks are 18-22-0 straight up this year

The Vancouver Canucks are 19-18-0 against the over/under this season

Important Calgary Flames Betting Trends

The Calgary Flames are 23-15-0 straight up this year

The Calgary Flames are 18-19-0 against the over/under this season

Key Vancouver Canucks Injuries

12/20/18 D Troy Stecher Concussion is out indefinitely
10/25/18 LW Sven Baertschi Upper Body IR (10/25)

Key Calgary Flames Injuries

11/28/18 D Juuso Valimaki Lower Body is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Elias Pettersson has accumulated 38 total points this season for the Canucks. He has 18 goals this year with 67 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 27%. He has a total of 20 assists on the season and averages 18.1 minutes played per game. Bo Horvat averages 20.8 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by scoring 17 goals on 109 shots. He has 18 assists, giving him a total of 35 points on the season. Jacob Markstrom has 15 wins and 10 losses this season in net for the Canucks. He has 876 shots against him and he's given up 80 goals. He's made 796 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Sean Monahan has scored 43 total points this year for the Flames. He has 21 goals this season with 118 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 18%. He has a total of 22 assists on the season and averages 19.7 minutes played per game. Johnny Gaudreau averages 20.4 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by scoring 19 goals on 121 shots. He has 32 assists, giving him a total of 51 points on the season. David Rittich has 12 wins and 4 losses this year in goal for the Flames. He has 555 shots against him and he's surrendered 41 goals. He's made 514 saves for a save percentage of 93%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canucks have 40 total points this season, which ranks them 18th in the NHL. They are 10th in the league in goals scored with 121 while they've given up 127 goals, ranking them 6th overall. They have had 127 power play opportunities and have scored 23 goals on those chances for a percentage of 18%. That is 20th in the NHL. The Canucks have allowed 136 power play opportunities and have given up 30 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, putting them 21st in the league when short-handed. They average 28 shots per game and as a team shoot 10.63% for the season. They allow 31 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%. That puts them 21st in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Flames are 5th in the NHL with a total of 49 points this year. They have 29 power play goals on 133 opportunities for a percentage of 22%. That ranks them 11th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 117 power play opportunities and have given up 23 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%. That is 14th in the NHL. As a team, the Flames are 4th in the league with 131 goals scored while they've given up 104 goals, which is 25th overall. They average 32 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 10.72%. As a team they give up 28 shots per game and have a save percentage of 91%. That is 15th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Vancouver is 26th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 46.6%, as they've attempted 2,031 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,331 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 47.2% as they have 1,545 attempts while they have given up 1,728 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 25th in the league. The Canucks start possessions in the offensive zone 47.5% of the time, which is 28th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 52.5% for the season. That is 4th overall in the NHL. They have 1,148 face-off wins compared to 1,240 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.1%. That ranks them 24th in the league. On defense Vancouver has 874 hits and they have blocked 603 shots from the opposition, putting them 2nd overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Flames are 3rd in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 55.3% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 44.7% for the season, which is 29th in the NHL. They have 1,148 face-off wins compared to 1,068 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.8%. That is 7th in the league. On defense Calgary has 559 hits and they have blocked 461 shots from the opposition, which is 30th in the league. Calgary is 5th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 53.7% as they've attempted 2,256 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,945 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 53.1% ranks 5th as they have 1,677 attempts while they have given up 1,484 shots on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's Canucks/Flames NHL game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take Vancouver +175

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