Vegas Golden Knights vs. Vancouver Canucks - 12/19/19 NHL Picks, Odds, and Prediction

Game: Vegas Golden Knights vs Vancouver Canucks

Date: Thursday, December 19, 2019

Location: Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC

TV: ATRM/RSNP

Odds/Point Spread: Golden Knights (-125) Canucks (+113)

Total/Over-Under: 6

Jacob Markstrom and the Vancouver Canucks (16-15-4, 5th in the Pacific Division) host the Vegas Golden Knights (19-13-5, 3rd in the Pacific Division) at Rogers Arena on Thursday, December 19, 2019. The Canucks open this matchup at +113 while the Golden Knights are coming in at -125. The over/under opens at 6. The Golden Knights are covering 45.5% of the time, having gone 15-18 SU. Vancouver is covering 41.9% of the time, going 13-18 straight up.

The Vegas Golden Knights head into this game holding a record of 19 victories and 13 losses, which is good for 3rd in the Pacific Division. So far this season, they have racked up a total of 109 goals which is 4th in the Western Conference and 12th in the league. Their goal differential is +4, which is good for 16th in the league. The Golden Knights currently have a total of 43 pts, which is 9th in the league and 4th in the conference. When talking about shots at the opposition, they currently have a total of 1,248 which is 1st in the conference and 1st in the league. As a group, Vegas has obtained a total of 948 hits which has them averaging 25.6 per game. They currently have a total of 423 blocks for the year. Protecting the goal for Vegas is Marc-Andre Fleury from Sorel, Quebec. He is 35 years old and has been on the ice a total of 1,397 minutes in goal this year. Fleury is surrendering 2.53 GAA which has him placed 8th among Western Conference goaltenders and 18th in the NHL among goaltenders. For the season, he's surrendered 59 goals. He holds a save percentage of .918 which has him placed 10th among Western Conference goaltenders.

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The Vegas Golden Knights went home feeling good about their game by earning a 3 - 2 win against the Minnesota Wild their last time out. The Golden Knights offense didn't overly impress in the win. For this game, they netted 3 of the 29 shots they attempted. Furthermore, they had 1 power play chance but weren't able to net one. Vegas racked up 10 penalty mins in this outing. The Corsi for the Golden Knights sat at 51 and the Corsi against was 45 which tells us they had a Corsi percentage of 53.1%. Their Fenwick sat at 38 and the Fenwick against sat at 30, giving them a Fenwick percentage of 55.9%. They took 25 face-off wins and were beaten on 17 attempts to control the puck. Their starts in the offensive zone came in at 55.6% and they had a PDO of 106.5 in this one. Concerning opponent stats, the Minnesota Wild earned a total of 26 shots. They had 2 minutes in the box and they earned a total of 5 power play chances.

The Canucks are the team looking to add points to their total and for the campaign they sit with 16 victories and 15 defeats. in respect to goal differential, they currently sit 8th in the West and 19th in the league with +1. They currently have a total of 108 goals for the year which has them at 5th in the West. Vancouver has a save percentage as a team of .905 which currently has them sitting 18th in the league, which means there should be some chances to score. They have a team shooting percentage of 9.6% ranking them 7th in the conference. In net for Vancouver is Jacob Markstrom who is having a marginal season by surrendering 2.70 goals against average and that has him ranked 10th among Western Conference goaltenders and 23rd among goaltenders in the NHL. In the 1,376 minutes he has been on the ice this season, he has allowed 62 goals. His save % is .915, which has him ranking 12th among Western Conference goaltenders and 22nd among goaltenders in the NHL.

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The Vancouver Canucks played the Montreal Canadiens in a game where the Canucks went home in defeat by a tally of 3 - 1. In this game, Vancouver went home with a 55.8% Corsi rating. They earned that percentage by having a Corsi of 58 while the opposition earned a Corsi of 46. They earned a Fenwick percentage of 53.6% by notching a Fenwick of 45 and the Canadiens having earned a 39 Fenwick at even strength. This Corsi percentage speaks to the kind of game that Vancouver played and the stats tell us that they didn't play well overall. Their PDO was 96.0 and they had an oZS percentage of 52.0%. The Canucks notched 1 goal of the 39 shots on goal they were seeking. They had 4 power play chances in this outing and were able to net 1 out of those opportunities. On the other side of the ice, the Canadiens had 2 power play attempts and went on to score 2 goals. Vancouver conceded 30 shots on goal and the Canadiens racked up a total of 8 minutes in the box.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Josh's Pick: Take Vegas (-125)

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