Chicago Blackhawks vs Montreal Canadiens Prediction, 12/9/2021 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Chicago Blackhawks vs Montreal Canadiens

Date: Thursday, December 9, 2021

Location: Bell Centre in Montreal, QC

TV: TSN

Odds/Point Spread: Blackhawks (-114) Canadiens (-107)

Bell Centre is the venue where Jake Allen and the Montreal Canadiens (6-18-3) will take on the Chicago Blackhawks (9-14-2) on Thursday. The odds on this contest have the Blackhawks coming in at -114 and the Canadiens are at -107. The O/U opens at 5.5.

The Blackhawks will look for better times on the ice after their 6-2 defeat to the Rangers the last time they stepped on the ice. The Corsi for the Blackhawks came in at 45 and the Corsi against was 39 meaning they had a Corsi percentage of 53.6%. When starting in the offensive zone they came in at 54.8% and their PDO was 93.5 for this one. Chicago tallied 27 penalty mins for this game. The Blackhawks could have played much better offensively in the defeat. Their Fenwick came in at 33 and the Fenwick Against sat at 31, giving them a Fenwick rate of 51.6%. They accumulated 27 face-off wins when at even strength and lost on 25 attempts to gain puck control. Additionally, they had 4 chances with extra men on the ice but didn't net one. In the outing, they converted 2 out of the 26 shots they put on goal.

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The Blackhawks have had 782 shots attempted against them and hold a save percentage of .896. While playing at even strength, the Blackhawks have surrendered 68 goals while scoring 40 of their own. Chicago Blackhawks opponents have earned 70 power play opportunities (20th in pro hockey) and have come away with 13 goals in those attempts. For the current campaign, they have earned 20 points and their points percentage is sitting at .400. Chicago has attempted 696 shots and holds a shot percentage of 7.6%. In relation to their scoring, the Chicago Blackhawks have racked up 53 goals (30th in the National Hockey League) so far this year and have surrendered 81. Chicago has accounted for 77 power play opportunities and they have scored 13 goals during those advantages, garnering them a percentage of 16.88%.

The player between the pipes for this game is Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury has taken the ice for 900 contests during his NHL career. He has compiled a win-loss record of 499-286-82 and he has started in 744 games. The opposition has been able to score 2,217 goals against Fleury in his pro career and his goals against rate is 2.55. Fleury has seen 25,519 shot attempts taken against him and has amassed 23,302 total saves. His save percentage currently is at .913 for his 52,078 mins on the ice. Throughout his time in hockey, Fleury is sitting with 412 quality starts and his quality starts percentage is .554.

The last time they were on the ice, Montreal played the Lightning in a matchup where the Canadiens were on the wrong end of the score by a final of 3-2. Montreal earned a 43.0% Corsi rating. This Corsi rating is telling of the kind of game that Montreal played and we'd say it was a below average outing in all. They had a Fenwick percentage of 47.6% by notching a Fenwick of 30 and the Lightning finishing with a 33 Fenwick. Their PDO at even strength was 97 and their oZS percentage was 48.0%. The Canadiens recorded 2 goals out of the 23 shots on goal they pursued. They had 1 attempt on the power play in this game but weren't able to notch a goal.

Montreal has put up 789 shots (13th in professional hockey) and has earned a shooting percentage of 7.73%, while allowing the opposition 903 shots. They have accumulated a penalty kill rate of 72.29% on their opponents 83 power play tries, and their save percentage comes in at 89.4%. They have a total of 82 power play opportunities and they have accumulated a power play rate of 13.41%. The Canadiens have accumulated 50 goals at even strength and 11 goals (27th in professional hockey) while on the power play. They have granted a total of 96 goals to be scored by way of 73 goals at even strength and 23 goals while they were shorthanded. During this campaign, the Montreal Canadiens have earned 61 goals, 15 points, as well as a points percentage of .278.

For the opposition you will find Jake Allen in the crease. Allen is the owner of a career record of 164-118-33 and has participated in 338 games. Allen's quality start percentage comes out to 53.5% and he has earned 170 quality starting assignments in his pro hockey career. He has accounted for 8,300 stops out of 9,105 shots attempted, which gives him a save percentage of .912. His opposition is averaging 2.55 goals/game and he has relinquished 805 goals overall. He has been a starter 318 games and has been on the ice for 18,947 minutes.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Montreal (-107)

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