Colorado Avalanche at Montreal Canadiens NHL Picks & Predictions 1/12/2019

Saturday, January 12, 2019

Bell Centre

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Colorado Avalanche head to Bell Centre to take on the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, January 12, 2019. The opening line for this contest has the Avalanche at +114 and the Canadiens at -126.

Colorado has a record of 20-16-8 this year. They are 4th in the Central Division. They've tallied 151 goals and surrendered 141 goals for a point differential of +10. For the year they have an ATS mark of 20-24-0 and an over/under record of 24-20-0. Montreal has a record of 23-17-5 this season. They are 5th in the Atlantic Division. They have scored 135 goals and given up 139 for a goal differential of -4. Their record against the spread is 23-21-0 while their over/under mark is 21-22-0.

Valuable Colorado Avalanche Betting Trends

The Colorado Avalanche are 20-24-0 straight up this year

The Colorado Avalanche are 24-20-0 against the over/under this season

Important Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends

The Montreal Canadiens are 23-21-0 straight up this year

The Montreal Canadiens are 21-22-0 against the over/under this season

Key Colorado Avalanche Injuries

12/22/18 C Colin Wilson Shoulder is out indefinitely
12/11/18 C Vladislav Kamenev Shoulder is out indefinitely
10/04/18 D Conor Timmins Concussion is out indefinitely
01/10/19 D Nikita Zadorov Undisclosed is out indefinitely

Key Montreal Canadiens Injuries

01/03/19 RW Andrew Shaw Neck IR (01/03)

Player Spotlight

Mikko Rantanen has scored 68 total points this year for the Avalanche. He has 20 goals this season with 115 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 17%. He has a total of 48 assists on the year and averages 21.2 minutes played per contest. Nathan MacKinnon averages 22.2 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by tallying 26 goals on 204 attempts. He has 40 assists, giving him a total of 66 points on the year. Semyon Varlamov has 11 wins and 9 losses this season in goal for the Avalanche. He has 774 shots against him and he's surrendered 71 goals. He's made 703 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Max Domi has 39 total points this season for the Canadiens. He has 14 goals this year with 101 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 25 assists on the year and averages 17.6 minutes played per contest. Tomas Tatar averages 16.4 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by scoring 14 goals on 112 attempts. He has 19 assists, giving him a total of 33 points on the year. Carey Price has 16 wins and 13 losses this season in net for the Canadiens. He has 987 shots against him and he's given up 91 goals. He's made 896 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Avalanche have 48 total points this year, which is 16th in the NHL. They've scored 151 goals while giving up 141 scores, which has them ranked 7th and 9th respectively. They have had 166 power play chances and scored 43 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 26%. That is 5th in the league. The Avalanche have given up 155 power play opportunities and surrendered 38 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 75%, ranking them 27th when short-handed. They average 32 shots per contest and as a team shoot 10.63% for the year. They allow 31 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 22nd in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canadiens are 14th in the league with a total of 51 points this season. They have 19 power play goals on 149 chances for a percentage of 13%. That is 31st in the NHL. They've given up 148 power play opportunities and surrendered 32 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, ranking 21st overall. As a team, the Canadiens are 13th with a total of 135 goals scored while they've given up 139 goals this season, ranking 12th in goals against. They average 34 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.89%. As a unit they give up 31 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 18th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Colorado is 16th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.6%, as they've attempted 2,526 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,566 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 50.1% as they have 1,899 attempts while they have given up 1,888 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 17th in the league. The Avalanche start possessions in the offensive zone 53.5% of the time, which is 7th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 46.5% for the season. That is 25th overall in the NHL. They have 1,285 face-off wins compared to 1,377 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.3%. That ranks them 24th in the league. On defense Colorado has 830 hits and they have blocked 678 shots from the opposition, putting them 5th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Canadiens are 9th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 53% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 47% for the season, which is 23rd in the NHL. They have 1,290 face-off wins compared to 1,457 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47%. That is 30th in the league. On defense Montreal has 1,214 hits and they have blocked 658 shots from the opposition, which is 9th in the league. Montreal is 4th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 53.2% as they've attempted 2,882 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,536 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 52.4% ranks 6th as they have 2,067 attempts while they have given up 1,878 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Colorado +114

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