Washington Capitals at Chicago Blackhawks NHL Picks & Predictions 2/17/2018

Saturday, February 17, 2018

United Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Washington Capitals head to United Center to take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, February 17, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Capitals at -120 and the Blackhawks at +109.

Washington has a record of 33-17-7 this year and away from home they have a record of 13-9-5-1. They are 1st in the Metropolitan Division. They have tallied 181 goals and surrendered 167 goals for a point differential of +14. For the year they have an ATS mark of 33-24-0 and an over/under record of 34-23-0. Chicago has a record of 24-26-8 including 12-13-3-0 on home ice this year. They are 7th in the Central Division. They've scored 162 goals and have given up 169 for a goal differential of -7. Their record against the spread is 24-34-0 while their over/under mark is 25-30-0.

Valuable Washington Capitals Betting Trends

The Washington Capitals are 33-24-0 straight up this year

The Washington Capitals are 34-23-0 against the over/under this season

Important Chicago Blackhawks Betting Trends

The Chicago Blackhawks are 24-34-0 straight up this year

The Chicago Blackhawks are 25-30-0 against the over/under this season

Key Washington Capitals Injuries

No key injuries to report

Key Chicago Blackhawks Injuries

12/27/17 GO Corey Crawford Vertigo IR (12/26)
10/05/17 RW Marian Hossa Infection IR (10/03)
10/05/15 D Michal Rozsival Upper Body IR (10/03)
02/09/18 D Jan Rutta Upper Body IR (02/05)

Player Spotlight

Alex Ovechkin has scored 61 total points this year for the Capitals. He has 33 goals this season with 232 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 28 assists on the year and averages 20 minutes played per contest. Nicklas Backstrom averages 19.8 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by tallying 14 goals on 103 attempts. He has 29 assists, giving him a total of 43 points on the year. Braden Holtby has 28 wins and 10 losses this season in goal for the Capitals. He has 1,329 shots against him and he's surrendered 115 goals. He's made 1,214 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Patrick Kane has 53 total points this season for the Blackhawks. He has 21 goals this year with 201 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 32 assists on the year and averages 20.3 minutes played per contest. Jonathan Toews averages 19.6 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 9% by scoring 15 goals on 165 attempts. He has 21 assists, giving him a total of 36 points on the year. Jeff Glass has 3 wins and 6 losses this season in net for the Blackhawks. He has 413 shots against him and he's given up 42 goals. He's made 371 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Capitals have 71 total points this year, which is 8th in the NHL. They've scored 176 goals while giving up 165 scores, which has them ranked 9th and 18th respectively. They have had 173 power play chances and scored 37 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 21%. That is 10th in the league. The Capitals have given up 185 power play opportunities and surrendered 37 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking them 17th when short-handed. They average 29 shots per contest and as a team shoot 11.01% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 17th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blackhawks are 23rd in the league with a total of 56 points this season. They have 33 power play goals on 209 chances for a percentage of 16%. That is 29th in the NHL. They've given up 178 power play opportunities and surrendered 31 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, ranking 8th overall. As a team, the Blackhawks are 21st with a total of 160 goals scored while they've given up 166 goals this season, ranking 15th in goals against. They average 34 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.14%. 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

Washington is 26th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 47.5%, as they've attempted 3,100 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,428 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 46.6% as they have 2,282 attempts while they have given up 2,620 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 30th in the league. The Capitals start possessions in the offensive zone 49.3% of the time, which is 22nd in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.7% for the season. That is 11th overall in the NHL. They have 1,669 face-off wins compared to 1,643 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.4%. That ranks them 17th in the league. On defense Washington has 1,254 hits and they have blocked 808 shots from the opposition, putting them 19th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Blackhawks are 2nd in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 57.3% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 42.7% for the season, which is 30th in the NHL. They have 1,729 face-off wins compared to 1,770 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.4%. That is 19th in the league. On defense Chicago has 1,000 hits and they have blocked 796 shots from the opposition, which is 24th in the league. Chicago is 2nd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 53.4% as they've attempted 3,738 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,264 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 51.6% ranks 7th as they have 2,632 attempts while they have given up 2,468 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Washington -120

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