Washington Capitals at Montreal Canadiens NHL Picks & Predictions 3/24/2018

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Bell Centre

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Washington Capitals travel to Bell Centre to play the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, March 24, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Capitals at -175 and the Canadiens at +158.

Washington has a record of 43-24-7 this season and on the road they have a record of 17-15-5-1. They are 1st in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 230 goals and given up 217 goals for a point differential of +13. For the season they have an ATS record of 43-31-0 and an over/under record of 42-31-0. Montreal is 26-36-12 including 17-12-8-4 at home this season. They are 6th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 185 goals and surrendered 237 for a goal differential of -52. Their record against the spread is 26-48-0 while their over/under record is 32-40-0.

Valuable Washington Capitals Betting Trends

The Washington Capitals are 43-31-0 straight up this year

The Washington Capitals are 42-31-0 against the over/under this season

Important Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends

The Montreal Canadiens are 26-48-0 straight up this year

The Montreal Canadiens are 32-40-0 against the over/under this season

Key Washington Capitals Injuries

03/22/18 C Evgeny Kuznetsov Arm is "?" Saturday vs Montreal

Key Montreal Canadiens Injuries

12/18/17 D Shea Weber Foot IR (12/17)
10/22/17 RW Ales Hemsky Concussion IR (10/20)
03/21/18 RW Andrew Shaw Head is "?" Friday vs Buffalo
03/21/18 D David Schlemko Upper Body is "?" Friday vs Buffalo
03/21/18 LW Phillip Danault Head is "?" Friday vs Buffalo
03/21/18 D Rinat Valiev Lower Body is "?" Friday vs Buffalo
03/05/18 LW Max Pacioretty Lower Body is out indefinitely
03/05/18 D Victor Mete Finger is out for season

Player Spotlight

Nicklas Backstrom has accumulated 57 total points this season for the Capitals. He has 19 goals this year with 149 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He has a total of 38 assists on the season and averages 19.7 minutes played per game. Alex Ovechkin averages 20.1 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 44 goals on 315 shots. He has 37 assists, giving him a total of 81 points on the season. Braden Holtby has 31 wins and 15 losses this season in net for the Capitals. He has 1,520 shots against him and he's given up 143 goals. He's made 1,377 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Max Pacioretty has scored 37 total points this year for the Canadiens. He has 17 goals this season with 212 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 8%. He has a total of 20 assists on the season and averages 19 minutes played per game. Brendan Gallagher averages 15.9 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by scoring 26 goals on 250 shots. He has 19 assists, giving him a total of 45 points on the season. Carey Price has 15 wins and 23 losses this year in goal for the Canadiens. He has 1,335 shots against him and he's surrendered 129 goals. He's made 1,206 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Capitals have 93 total points this season, which ranks them 8th in the NHL. They are 10th in the league in goals scored with 230 while they've given up 217 goals, ranking them 18th overall. They have had 219 power play opportunities and have scored 49 goals on those chances for a percentage of 22%. That is 7th in the NHL. The Capitals have allowed 244 power play opportunities and have given up 49 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, putting them 18th in the league when short-handed. They average 29 shots per game and as a team shoot 10.77% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%. That puts them 17th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canadiens are 27th in the NHL with a total of 64 points this year. They have 45 power play goals on 221 opportunities for a percentage of 20%. That ranks them 16th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 237 power play opportunities and have given up 60 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 75%. That is 30th in the NHL. As a team, the Canadiens are 29th in the league with 185 goals scored while they've given up 237 goals, which is 8th overall. They average 33 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 7.53%. As a team they give up 32 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 21st in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Washington has a Corsi percentage of 47.4% as they've tried 4,062 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 4,506 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 31st in Corsi percentage. They are 31st in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 47.1% as they have 3,033 shots while they've given up 3,413 attempts on defense. The Capitals start possessions in the offensive zone 49.5% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.5% for the year. That puts them 20th and 12th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 2,222 face-off wins as opposed to 2,182 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.5%. That is 13th overall in the NHL. On defense Washington has 1,624 hits and they've blocked 1,093 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 16th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Canadiens are 11th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 51.9% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 48.1% for the season, which is 22nd in the NHL. They have 2,181 face-off wins compared to 2,386 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.8%. That is 28th in the league. On defense Montreal has 1,940 hits and they have blocked 1,250 shots from the opposition, which is 1st in the league. Montreal is 17th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.9% as they've attempted 4,562 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,585 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 49.9% ranks 17th as they have 3,320 attempts while they have given up 3,335 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Montreal +158

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