Vegas Golden Knights at Chicago Blackhawks NHL Picks & Predictions 1/5/2018

Friday, January 5, 2018

United Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Vegas Golden Knights travel to United Center to play the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, January 5, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Golden Knights at +104 and the Blackhawks at -115.

Vegas has a record of 27-9-2 this season and on the road they have a record of 10-7-1-1. They are 1st in the Pacific Division. They've scored 135 goals and given up 106 goals for a point differential of +29. For the season they have an ATS record of 27-11-0 and an over/under record of 22-14-0. Chicago is 19-14-6 including 10-5-2-0 at home this season. They are 6th in the Central Division. They've scored 117 goals and surrendered 108 for a goal differential of +9. Their record against the spread is 19-20-0 while their over/under record is 17-20-0.

Valuable Vegas Golden Knights Betting Trends

The Vegas Golden Knights are 27-11-0 straight up this year

The Vegas Golden Knights are 22-14-0 against the over/under this season

Important Chicago Blackhawks Betting Trends

The Chicago Blackhawks are 19-20-0 straight up this year

The Chicago Blackhawks are 17-20-0 against the over/under this season

Key Vegas Golden Knights Injuries

12/17/17 D Luca Sbisa Lower Body IR (12/13)
11/30/17 LW William Carrier Upper Body IR (11/26)
10/31/17 GO Oscar Dansk Lower Body IR (10/30)
10/06/17 D Clayton Stoner Abdominal IR (10/02)

Key Chicago Blackhawks Injuries

12/29/17 C Artem Anisimov Upper Body IR (12/28)
12/27/17 GO Corey Crawford Upper Body IR (12/26)
10/05/17 RW Marian Hossa Infection IR (10/03)
10/05/15 D Michal Rozsival Upper Body IR (10/03)

Player Spotlight

James Neal has accumulated 27 total points this season for the Golden Knights. He has 17 goals this year with 106 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 10 assists on the season and averages 17.4 minutes played per game. David Perron averages 17.6 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by scoring 9 goals on 55 shots. He has 22 assists, giving him a total of 31 points on the season. Marc-Andre Fleury has 8 wins and 2 losses this season in net for the Golden Knights. He has 317 shots against him and he's given up 18 goals. He's made 299 saves for a save percentage of 94%.

Player Spotlight

Patrick Kane has scored 40 total points this year for the Blackhawks. He has 17 goals this season with 140 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 23 assists on the season and averages 20 minutes played per game. Jonathan Toews averages 19.8 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by scoring 11 goals on 109 shots. He has 15 assists, giving him a total of 26 points on the season. Jeff Glass has 2 wins and 0 losses this year in goal for the Blackhawks. He has 109 shots against him and he's surrendered 9 goals. He's made 100 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Golden Knights have 56 total points this season, which ranks them 2nd in the NHL. They are 5th in the league in goals scored with 135 while they've given up 106 goals, ranking them 26th overall. They have had 127 power play opportunities and have scored 24 goals on those chances for a percentage of 19%. That is 19th in the NHL. The Golden Knights have allowed 117 power play opportunities and have given up 23 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, putting them 21st in the league when short-handed. They average 32 shots per game and as a team shoot 11.01% for the season. They allow 30 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%. That puts them 18th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blackhawks are 18th in the NHL with a total of 44 points this year. They have 22 power play goals on 148 opportunities for a percentage of 15%. That ranks them 29th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 127 power play opportunities and have given up 24 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%. That is 17th in the NHL. As a team, the Blackhawks are 15th in the league with 117 goals scored while they've given up 108 goals, which is 24th overall. They average 35 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 8.63%. As a team they give up 33 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%. That is 9th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Vegas is 13th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.9%, as they've attempted 2,293 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,214 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 51.7% as they have 1,712 attempts while they have given up 1,600 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 10th in the league. The Golden Knights start possessions in the offensive zone 50.6% of the time, which is 18th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.4% for the season. That is 20th overall in the NHL. They have 1,187 face-off wins compared to 1,191 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.9%. That ranks them 20th in the league. On defense Vegas has 727 hits and they have blocked 614 shots from the opposition, putting them 8th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Blackhawks start possessions in the offensive zone 57.9% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 42.1% for the year. That ranks them 2nd and 30th respectively in the NHL. They have 1,196 face-off wins as opposed to 1,258 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.7%. That is 21st in the league. On defense Chicago has 731 hits and they've blocked 538 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 25th in blocked shots. Chicago is ranked 2nd in Corsi percentage with 53% as they've tried 2,565 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,277 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 12th in the NHL at 51.1%, as they have 1,817 shots while they've given up 1,739 attempts on defense.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Chicago -115

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