Columbus Blue Jackets at Boston Bruins NHL Picks & Predictions 12/18/2017

Monday, December 18, 2017

TD Garden

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Columbus Blue Jackets travel to TD Garden to play the Boston Bruins on Monday, December 18, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Blue Jackets at -105 and the Bruins at -115.

Columbus has a record of 20-12-1 this season and on the road they have a record of 8-6-1. They are 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 95 goals and given up 86 goals for a point differential of +9. For the season they have an ATS record of 20-12-0 and an over/under record of 15-16-0. Boston is 15-10-5 including 9-5-3 at home this season. They are 3rd in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 86 goals and surrendered 85 for a goal differential of +1. Their record against the spread is 15-14-0 while their over/under record is 14-15-0.

Valuable Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Trends

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 20-12-0 straight up this year

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 15-16-0 against the over/under this season

Important Boston Bruins Betting Trends

The Boston Bruins are 15-14-0 straight up this year

The Boston Bruins are 14-15-0 against the over/under this season

Key Columbus Blue Jackets Injuries

12/13/17 C Brandon Dubinsky Eye is out indefinitely
12/01/17 D Ryan Murray Upper Body IR (11/27)

Key Boston Bruins Injuries

11/26/17 C Peter Cehlarik Lower Body IR (11/25)
10/20/17 D Adam McQuaid Fibula IR (10/19)

Player Spotlight

Artemi Panarin has accumulated 28 total points this season for the Blue Jackets. He has 7 goals this year with 91 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 8%. He has a total of 21 assists on the season and averages 20.1 minutes played per game. Josh Anderson averages 17.7 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 12 goals on 101 shots. He has 7 assists, giving him a total of 19 points on the season. Sergei Bobrovsky has 17 wins and 9 losses this season in net for the Blue Jackets. He has 794 shots against him and he's given up 61 goals. He's made 733 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

David Pastrnak has scored 30 total points this year for the Bruins. He has 15 goals this season with 84 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 18%. He has a total of 15 assists on the season and averages 18.8 minutes played per game. Brad Marchand averages 20.9 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 23% by scoring 13 goals on 57 shots. He has 14 assists, giving him a total of 27 points on the season. Tuukka Rask has 8 wins and 8 losses this year in goal for the Bruins. He has 538 shots against him and he's surrendered 47 goals. He's made 491 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blue Jackets have 41 total points this season, which ranks them 7th in the NHL. They are 17th in the league in goals scored with 95 while they've given up 86 goals, ranking them 24th overall. They have had 93 power play opportunities and have scored 9 goals on those chances for a percentage of 10%. That is 31st in the NHL. The Blue Jackets have allowed 87 power play opportunities and have given up 14 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 84%, putting them 3rd in the league when short-handed. They average 35 shots per game and as a team shoot 8.30% for the season. They allow 30 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%. That puts them 9th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Bruins are 19th in the NHL with a total of 35 points this year. They have 20 power play goals on 101 opportunities for a percentage of 20%. That ranks them 13th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 95 power play opportunities and have given up 16 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%. That is 9th in the NHL. As a team, the Bruins are 26th in the league with 86 goals scored while they've given up 85 goals, which is 25th overall. They average 32 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 9.08%. As a team they give up 30 shots per game and have a save percentage of 91%. That is 16th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Columbus has a Corsi percentage of 52.3% as they've tried 1,992 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,817 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 8th in Corsi percentage. They are 2nd in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 53.5% as they have 1,540 shots while they've given up 1,338 attempts on defense. The Blue Jackets start possessions in the offensive zone 51.6% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 48.4% for the year. That puts them 12th and 18th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 926 face-off wins as opposed to 1,032 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.3%. That is 28th overall in the NHL. On defense Columbus has 720 hits and they've blocked 479 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 19th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Bruins are 4th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 55.1% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 44.9% for the season, which is 27th in the NHL. They have 979 face-off wins compared to 922 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.5%. That is 6th in the league. On defense Boston has 729 hits and they have blocked 417 shots from the opposition, which is 29th in the league. Boston is 5th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.5% as they've attempted 1,765 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,661 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 52% ranks 7th as they have 1,346 attempts while they have given up 1,244 shots on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's Blue Jackets/Bruins NHL game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take Boston -115

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