New York Islanders vs. Chicago Blackhawks - 12/27/19 NHL Picks, Odds, and Prediction

Game: New York Islanders vs Chicago Blackhawks

Date: Friday, December 27, 2019

Location: United Center in Chicago, IL

TV: NSCH/MS+2

Odds/Point Spread: Islanders (-161) Blackhawks (+135)

Total/Over-Under: 5.5

Semyon Varlamov and the New York Islanders (23-9-3, 2nd in the Metropolitan Division) are headed to United Center on Friday where they'll meet the Chicago Blackhawks (15-17-6, 7th in the Central Division). The Blackhawks open this game at +135 while the Islanders are coming in at -161. The over/under is set at 5.5. The Islanders cover 62.5% of the time, having gone 20-12 SU. The Blackhawks cover 37.8% of the time, going 14-23 straight up.

The New York Islanders head into this game holding a record of 23 victories and 9 losses, which is good for 2nd in the Metropolitan Division. During the season thus far, they have racked up a total of 102 goals which has them at 13th in the conference and 23rd in the league. Their goal differential is +12, which is good for 10th in the league. The Islanders have compiled a total of 49 pts, which has them at 4th in the league and 3rd in the East. When discussing shots toward the net, they have compiled a total of 995 which has them at 16th in the Eastern Conference and 31st in the league. As a group, New York has collected a total of 1,006 hits which has them averaging 28.7 per contest. They have compiled a total of 494 blocks for the year. The man protecting the net for New York is Semyon Varlamov from Kuybyshev, USSR. He is 31 years old and has been on the ice a total of 1,142 minutes defending the goal for the campaign. Varlamov is conceding 2.47 goals against average which has him ranking 8th in the Eastern Conference and 15th among goaltenders in the NHL. For the year, he has given up 47 goals. He has a save % of .919 which has him ranking 7th in the Eastern Conference.

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The New York Islanders will need a bounce back game after taking a 3 - 2 loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets their last time out. The Islanders had a rough night on the offensive side of the ice in the loss. For this matchup, they netted 2 of the 37 shots they attempted. Furthermore, they had 2 power play chances but didn't net one. New York had 6 penalty mins in this game. The Corsi for the Islanders sat at 56 and the Corsi against was 50 which means they earned a Corsi percentage of 52.8%. Their Fenwick sat at 40 while the Fenwick against was 44, which means they had a rate of 47.6%. They took 20 face-off wins and were beaten on 25 attempts to control the puck. Their offensive zone starts came in at 46.2% and they had a PDO at even strength of 100.6 in this one. Concerning opponent stats, the Columbus Blue Jackets put up 35 shots. They finished with 6 penalty mins and they had 2 power play attempts.

The Blackhawks will be looking to add points to their total and for the season they have 15 victories and 17 losses. Regarding goal differential, they sit 12th in the West and 26th in the NHL with -17. They currently have a total of 104 goals for the season which ranks them 10th in the conference. Chicago has a team save % of .912 which has them sitting 8th in the NHL, which means chances to score may be limited. They have a team shooting percentage of 8.9% putting them at 9th in the conference. In goal for Chicago is Corey Crawford who is having a tough season by allowing 3.20 GAA and that places him 28th among West goalies and 53rd in the NHL. In the 1,142 minutes he has played this season, he has given up 61 goals. His save percentage is .905, which has him ranking 21st among West goalies and 41st in the NHL.

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The Chicago Blackhawks opposed the New Jersey Devils in a game where the Blackhawks ended up losing by a final of 7 - 1. For this matchup, Chicago wound up with a 45.4% Corsi rating. They wound up with that percentage by having a Corsi of 49 while the opposition earned a Corsi of 59. They earned a Fenwick percentage of 42.6% with a Fenwick of 29 and the Devils having a 39 Fenwick. This Corsi rating tells us the kind of game Chicago played and we'd say it was a below average outing in all. They had a PDO at even strength of 87.3 and they had an oZS percentage of 46.2%. The Blackhawks scored 1 goal of the 33 shots on goal they attempted. They had 7 power play opportunities in this game but weren't able to score a goal. On the other side of the ice, the Devils had 3 power play attempts but didn't tally a goal. Chicago gave way to 44 shots on goal and the Devils racked up a total of 31 penalty mins.

Who will win tonight's hockey game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take New York (-161)

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