Vancouver Canucks at Washington Capitals NHL Picks & Predictions 1/9/2018

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Capital One Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Vancouver Canucks head to Capital One Arena to take on the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, January 9, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Canucks at +193 and the Capitals at -215.

Vancouver has a record of 16-20-6 this year and away from home they have a record of 9-8-3-2. They are 7th in the Pacific Division. They have tallied 110 goals and surrendered 140 goals for a point differential of -30. For the year they have an ATS mark of 16-25-0 and an over/under record of 23-18-0. Washington has a record of 26-13-3 including 17-5-0-0 on home ice this year. They are 1st in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 132 goals and have given up 120 for a goal differential of +12. Their record against the spread is 25-16-0 while their over/under mark is 23-18-0.

Valuable Vancouver Canucks Betting Trends

The Vancouver Canucks are 16-25-0 straight up this year

The Vancouver Canucks are 23-18-0 against the over/under this season

Important Washington Capitals Betting Trends

The Washington Capitals are 25-16-0 straight up this year

The Washington Capitals are 23-18-0 against the over/under this season

Key Vancouver Canucks Injuries

12/07/17 C Bo Horvat Ankle IR (12/05)
11/27/17 C Brandon Sutter Upper Body IR (11/25)
01/07/18 D Christopher Tanev Facial is "?" Tuesday vs Washington

Key Washington Capitals Injuries

No key injuries to report

Player Spotlight

Thomas Vanek has scored 29 total points this year for the Canucks. He has 12 goals this season with 84 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 17 assists on the year and averages 14.1 minutes played per contest. Brock Boeser averages 16.8 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 20% by tallying 22 goals on 112 attempts. He has 18 assists, giving him a total of 40 points on the year. Jacob Markstrom has 10 wins and 13 losses this season in goal for the Canucks. He has 863 shots against him and he's surrendered 80 goals. He's made 783 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Alex Ovechkin has 45 total points this season for the Capitals. He has 27 goals this year with 183 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 18 assists on the year and averages 19.6 minutes played per contest. Nicklas Backstrom averages 19.6 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 9 goals on 76 attempts. He has 26 assists, giving him a total of 35 points on the year. Braden Holtby has 24 wins and 8 losses this season in net for the Capitals. He has 996 shots against him and he's given up 83 goals. He's made 913 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canucks have 38 total points this year, which is 28th in the NHL. They've scored 110 goals while giving up 140 scores, which has them ranked 28th and 5th respectively. They have had 142 power play chances and scored 29 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 20%. That is 12th in the league. The Canucks have given up 148 power play opportunities and surrendered 33 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, ranking them 27th when short-handed. They average 30 shots per contest and as a team shoot 8.78% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 24th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Capitals are 5th in the league with a total of 55 points this season. They have 26 power play goals on 129 chances for a percentage of 20%. That is 14th in the NHL. They've given up 144 power play opportunities and surrendered 29 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking 21st overall. As a team, the Capitals are 8th with a total of 132 goals scored while they've given up 120 goals this season, ranking 18th in goals against. They average 29 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 10.89%. As a unit they give up 32 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 15th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Vancouver has a Corsi percentage of 48.1% as they've tried 2,233 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,410 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 27th in Corsi percentage. They are 28th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 47.7% as they have 1,687 shots while they've given up 1,850 attempts on defense. The Canucks start possessions in the offensive zone 50.6% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.4% for the year. That puts them 16th and 19th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,237 face-off wins as opposed to 1,340 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48%. That is 28th overall in the NHL. On defense Vancouver has 800 hits and they've blocked 560 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 27th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Capitals are 20th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 50.2% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 49.8% for the season, which is 13th in the NHL. They have 1,275 face-off wins compared to 1,222 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.1%. That is 15th in the league. On defense Washington has 944 hits and they have blocked 612 shots from the opposition, which is 19th in the league. Washington is 28th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 47.9% as they've attempted 2,334 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,541 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 46.9% ranks 30th as they have 1,703 attempts while they have given up 1,929 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Vancouver +193

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 Guy Bruhn