Vancouver Canucks at Montreal Canadiens NHL Picks & Predictions 1/3/2019

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Bell Centre

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Vancouver Canucks travel to Bell Centre to play the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, January 3, 2019. The opening line for this game has the Canucks at +150 and the Canadiens at -185.

Vancouver has a record of 19-19-4 this season. They are 5th in the Pacific Division. They've scored 124 goals and given up 133 goals for a point differential of -9. For the season they have an ATS record of 19-23-0 and an over/under record of 19-20-0. Montreal is 21-14-5 this season. They are 5th in the Atlantic Division. They have scored 128 goals and surrendered 128 for a goal differential of 0. Their record against the spread is 21-19-0 while their over/under record is 21-18-0.

Valuable Vancouver Canucks Betting Trends

The Vancouver Canucks are 19-23-0 straight up this year

The Vancouver Canucks are 19-20-0 against the over/under this season

Important Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends

The Montreal Canadiens are 21-19-0 straight up this year

The Montreal Canadiens are 21-18-0 against the over/under this season

Key Vancouver Canucks Injuries

12/20/18 D Troy Stecher Concussion is out indefinitely
10/25/18 LW Sven Baertschi Upper Body IR (10/25)

Key Montreal Canadiens Injuries

12/27/18 GO Carey Price Lower Body is out for season
12/26/18 D David Schlemko Upper Body IR (12/26)
11/12/18 RW Joel Armia Knee is out indefinitely
01/01/19 RW Andrew Shaw None is questionable Thursday vs Vancouver

Player Spotlight

Elias Pettersson has accumulated 39 total points this season for the Canucks. He has 19 goals this year with 73 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 26%. He has a total of 20 assists on the season and averages 18.2 minutes played per game. Bo Horvat averages 20.7 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by scoring 17 goals on 117 shots. He has 18 assists, giving him a total of 35 points on the season. Jacob Markstrom has 16 wins and 10 losses this season in net for the Canucks. He has 909 shots against him and he's given up 82 goals. He's made 827 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Max Domi has scored 37 total points this year for the Canadiens. He has 14 goals this season with 92 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 23 assists on the season and averages 17.8 minutes played per game. Tomas Tatar averages 16.4 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 14 goals on 98 shots. He has 17 assists, giving him a total of 31 points on the season. Antti Niemi has 6 wins and 4 losses this year in goal for the Canadiens. He has 371 shots against him and he's surrendered 44 goals. He's made 327 saves for a save percentage of 88%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canucks have 42 total points this season, which ranks them 18th in the NHL. They are 15th in the league in goals scored with 124 while they've given up 133 goals, ranking them 6th overall. They have had 135 power play opportunities and have scored 24 goals on those chances for a percentage of 18%. That is 21st in the NHL. The Canucks have allowed 144 power play opportunities and have given up 32 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, putting them 21st in the league when short-handed. They average 28 shots per game and as a team shoot 10.42% for the season. They allow 31 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%. That puts them 22nd in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canadiens are 13th in the NHL with a total of 47 points this year. They have 18 power play goals on 134 opportunities for a percentage of 13%. That ranks them 29th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 128 power play opportunities and have given up 30 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%. That is 27th in the NHL. As a team, the Canadiens are 11th in the league with 128 goals scored while they've given up 128 goals, which is 8th overall. They average 34 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 9.30%. As a team they give up 31 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 23rd in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Vancouver is 27th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 46.8%, as they've attempted 2,145 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,436 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 47.3% as they have 1,628 attempts while they have given up 1,811 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 27th in the league. The Canucks start possessions in the offensive zone 47.6% of the time, which is 26th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 52.4% for the season. That is 6th overall in the NHL. They have 1,192 face-off wins compared to 1,300 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.8%. That ranks them 27th in the league. On defense Vancouver has 909 hits and they have blocked 625 shots from the opposition, putting them 4th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Canadiens are 7th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 54.1% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 45.9% for the season, which is 25th in the NHL. They have 1,160 face-off wins compared to 1,285 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.4%. That is 31st in the league. On defense Montreal has 1,093 hits and they have blocked 577 shots from the opposition, which is 13th in the league. Montreal is 4th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 53.6% as they've attempted 2,598 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,246 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 52.8% ranks 6th as they have 1,864 attempts while they have given up 1,669 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Vancouver +150

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