Chicago Blackhawks vs. Vancouver Canucks - 1/2/20 NHL Picks, Odds, and Prediction

Game: Chicago Blackhawks vs Vancouver Canucks

Date: Thursday, January 2, 2020

Location: Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC

TV: NCH+/RSNP

Odds/Point Spread: Blackhawks (+144) Canucks (-160)

Total/Over-Under: 6

Rogers Arena is the site where Jacob Markstrom and the Vancouver Canucks (21-15-4, 3rd in the Pacific Division) will take on the Chicago Blackhawks (18-17-6, 7th in the Central Division) on Thursday. The Canucks open this contest at -160 while the Blackhawks are coming in at +144. The O/U is set at 6. The Blackhawks are covering 41.0% of the time, having gone 16-23 SU. The Canucks are covering 48.7% of the time, going 18-19 straight up.

The Chicago Blackhawks head into this game holding a record of 18 victories and 17 losses, which puts them at 7th in the Central Division. During the season thus far, they have racked up a total of 116 goals which puts them at 9th in the conference and 20th in the league. Their goal differential is -12, which puts them at 24th in the league. The Blackhawks have compiled a total of 42 pts, which puts them at 24th in the league and 12th in the conference. In the matter of shots at the opposition, they have compiled a total of 1,265 which puts them at 7th in the conference and 16th in the league. As a group, Chicago has racked up a total of 896 hits which means they have an average of 21.9 per game. They have compiled a total of 512 blocks for this year. The man looking after the goal for Chicago is Robin Lehner from Ostrava, Czechoslovakia. He is 28 years old and has been on the ice a total of 1,339 mins in net for the year. Khudobin is giving up an average of 2.78 GAA which has him ranking 12th in the West and 24th among goaltenders in the NHL. During this season, he has allowed 62 goals. He's earned a save percentage of .926 which has him ranking 6th in the West.

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The Chicago Blackhawks came out of this game feeling pretty good about themselves with a 5 - 3 victory against the Calgary Flames the last time they stepped on the ice. The Blackhawks had a good offensive performance and it was apparent in the victory. For this matchup, they earned a goal on 5 out of the 33 shots they put on net. Furthermore, they had 4 power play attempts and were able to net 1 goal out of those opportunities. Chicago racked up a total of 2 penalty mins while out there on the ice. The Corsi for the Blackhawks was 50 and the Corsi against was 64 which means they had a Corsi percentage of 43.9%. Their Fenwick sat at 39 and the Fenwick against sat at 53, giving them a rate of 42.4%. They earned 35 face-off wins at even strength and lost 32 of the face-offs. The offensive zone starts for them were rated at 42.9% and they had a PDO at even strength of 108.5 in this game. When it comes to their opponent, the Calgary Flames earned a total of 44 shots. They finished with a total of 8 penalty mins and they notched 1 power play attempt.

The Canucks are the team looking to add points to their total and for the current year they have 21 wins and 15 losses. When looking at goal differential, they are ranked 3rd in the conference and 10th in the league with +11. They currently have a total of 129 goals for the year which ranks 4th in the Western Conference. Vancouver has a save % as a team of .909 which currently has them ranked 10th in the league, meaning scoring chances could present themselves. They are shooting 10.2% putting them at 4th in the conference. In net for Vancouver is Jacob Markstrom who is having an ok season by allowing 2.63 goals per contest and that has him ranked 8th among West goaltenders and 17th in the NHL among goalies. In the 1,617 mins he has been on the ice this year, he's allowed 71 goals. He's earned a save % of .919, which has him sitting 9th among West goaltenders and 15th in the NHL among goalies.

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The Vancouver Canucks faced the Calgary Flames in an outing where the Canucks earned a win by a tally of 5 - 2. For this game, Vancouver had a 50.6% Corsi rating. They ended up with that by earning a Corsi of 43 and their opponent having a Corsi of 42. Their Fenwick percentage came in at 53.1% by way of having a Fenwick of 34 and the Flames finishing with a 30 Fenwick at even strength. This Corsi percentage speaks to the kind of game that Vancouver played and they looked good in this game. They had a PDO of 104.5 and their percentage of oZS was 47.4%. The Canucks converted 5 goals of the 28 shots on goal they took. They had 5 power play chances in this outing and netted 2 out of those chances. In discussing the opposition, the Flames had 4 power play chances but weren't able to put the puck in the net. Vancouver allowed 25 shots on goal and the Flames ended up with a total of 12 minutes in the box.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Vancouver (-160)

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