Colorado Avalanche at Arizona Coyotes NHL Picks & Predictions 12/23/2017

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Gila River Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Colorado Avalanche head to Gila River Arena to take on the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday, December 23, 2017.

Colorado has a record of 16-15-3 this year and away from home they have a record of 6-9-2-1. They are 7th in the Central Division. They have tallied 106 goals and surrendered 111 goals for a point differential of -5. For the year they have an ATS mark of 16-17-0 and an over/under record of 20-12-0. Arizona has a record of 7-24-5 including 3-11-1-0 on home ice this year. They are 8th in the Pacific Division. They've scored 80 goals and have given up 125 for a goal differential of -45. Their record against the spread is 7-29-0 while their over/under mark is 15-20-0.

Valuable Colorado Avalanche Betting Trends

The Colorado Avalanche are 16-17-0 straight up this year

The Colorado Avalanche are 20-12-0 against the over/under this season

Important Arizona Coyotes Betting Trends

The Arizona Coyotes are 7-29-0 straight up this year

The Arizona Coyotes are 15-20-0 against the over/under this season

Key Colorado Avalanche Injuries

12/18/17 D Sergei Boikov Shoulder is out indefinitely
12/17/17 D Erik Johnson Suspension 2-game suspension (eligible to return 12/23 vs Arizona)
11/19/17 C Vladislav Kamenev Arm IR (11/16)

Key Arizona Coyotes Injuries

12/02/17 D Niklas Hjalmarsson Upper Body IR (11/28)

Player Spotlight

Mikko Rantanen has scored 29 total points this year for the Avalanche. He has 10 goals this season with 77 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He has a total of 19 assists on the year and averages 18.7 minutes played per contest. Nathan MacKinnon averages 19.9 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by tallying 15 goals on 104 attempts. He has 24 assists, giving him a total of 39 points on the year. Semyon Varlamov has 11 wins and 8 losses this season in goal for the Avalanche. He has 671 shots against him and he's surrendered 62 goals. He's made 609 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Oliver Ekman-Larsson has 19 total points this season for the Coyotes. He has 6 goals this year with 98 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 6%. He has a total of 13 assists on the year and averages 24.8 minutes played per contest. Clayton Keller averages 18.8 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 12 goals on 99 attempts. He has 14 assists, giving him a total of 26 points on the year. Antti Raanta has 4 wins and 9 losses this season in net for the Coyotes. He has 478 shots against him and he's given up 40 goals. He's made 438 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Avalanche have 34 total points this year, which is 23rd in the NHL. They've scored 105 goals while giving up 109 scores, which has them ranked 11th and 9th respectively. They have had 137 power play chances and scored 25 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 18%. That is 19th in the league. The Avalanche have given up 121 power play opportunities and surrendered 22 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, ranking them 14th when short-handed. They average 30 shots per contest and as a team shoot 10.68% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 24th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Coyotes are 31st in the league with a total of 19 points this season. They have 18 power play goals on 111 chances for a percentage of 16%. That is 25th in the NHL. They've given up 94 power play opportunities and surrendered 17 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, ranking 13th overall. As a team, the Coyotes are 30th with a total of 80 goals scored while they've given up 125 goals this season, ranking 1st in goals against. They average 30 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 7.37%. As a unit they give up 33 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 27th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Colorado is 25th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 47.9%, as they've attempted 1,860 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,022 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 47.5% as they have 1,370 attempts while they have given up 1,516 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 23rd in the league. The Avalanche start possessions in the offensive zone 49.5% of the time, which is 18th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.5% for the season. That is 8th overall in the NHL. They have 926 face-off wins compared to 1,138 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 44.9%. That ranks them 31st in the league. On defense Colorado has 597 hits and they have blocked 506 shots from the opposition, putting them 18th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Coyotes are 25th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 48.3% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 51.7% for the season, which is 5th in the NHL. They have 1,107 face-off wins compared to 1,195 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.1%. That is 25th in the league. On defense Arizona has 858 hits and they have blocked 521 shots from the opposition, which is 11th in the league. Arizona is 23rd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.3% as they've attempted 2,078 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,227 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 47.4% ranks 27th as they have 1,538 attempts while they have given up 1,706 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Colorado

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