Thursday, April 20, 2017

Consol Energy Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Columbus Blue Jackets travel to Consol Energy Center to play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, April 20, 2017 in Game 5 of their series. The Penguins lead the series 3-1. The opening line for this game has the Blue Jackets at +184 and the Penguins at -205.

Columbus had a regular season record of 50-24-8 and on the road they had a record of 22-12-7. They finished 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 249 goals and given up 195 goals for a point differential of +54. The Blue Jackets have an overall record of 3-5-2 in their last 10 games. For the season they have an ATS record of 47-32 and an over/under record of 32-44-6. Pittsburgh finished with a record of 50-21-11 including 31-6-4 at home this season. They were 2nd in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 282 goals and surrendered 234 for a goal differential of +48. The Penguins have a record of 4-4-2 in their last 10 contests. Their record against the spread is 46-31 while their over/under record sits at 47-30-5.

For expert handicapping advice on this game check out our NHL expert handicapper tips.

Valuable Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Trends

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 47-32 straight up

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 32-44-6 against the over/under

Important Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 46-31 straight up

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 47-30-5 against the over/under

Key Columbus Blue Jackets Injuries

04/17/17 D Zach Werenski Facial out indefinitely
04/10/17 RW David Clarkson Back out indefinitely
04/04/17 LW Lukas Sedlak Upper Body out indefinitely
03/13/17 D Ryan Murray Hand out indefinitely

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

04/18/17 GO Matt Murray Lower Body "?" Thursday vs. Columbus
04/18/17 D Chad Ruhwedel Upper Body "?" Thursday vs. Columbus
04/05/17 D Kris Letang Upper Body out for season
04/02/17 LW Chris Kunitz Lower Body out indefinitely
03/12/17 LW Carl Hagelin Lower Body out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Cam Atkinson has accumulated 62 total points this season for the Blue Jackets. He has 35 goals this season with 240 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 27 assists on the season and averages 18.1 minutes played per game. Alexander Wennberg has averaged 18.4 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 13 goals on 109 shots. He has 46 assists giving him a total of 59 points on the season. Sergei Bobrovsky has 41 wins and 17 losses this season in net for the Blue Jackets. He has had 1,854 shots against him and has given up 127 goals. He has made 1,727 saves for a save percentage of 93%.

Player Spotlight

Sidney Crosby has accumulated 89 total points this season for the Penguins. He has 44 goals this season with 255 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 17%. He has a total of 45 assists on the season and averages 19.9 minutes played per game. Evgeni Malkin has averaged 18.6 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 17% by scoring 33 goals on 191 shots. He has 39 assists giving him a total of 72 points on the season. Matthew Murray has 32 wins and 10 losses this season in net for the Penguins. He has had 1,450 shots against him and has given up 111 goals. He has made 1,339 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blue Jackets have 108 total points this season. They have scored 249 goals while giving up 195 goals. They have had 211 power play opportunities and have scored 42 goals on those chances for a percentage of 20%. The Blue Jackets have allowed 223 power play opportunities and given up 39 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%. They average 31 shots per game and as a team are shooting 9.80% for the season to this point. They allow 30 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins have a total of 111 points on the season. They have 60 power play goals on 260 opportunities thus far for a percentage of 23%. They have allowed 257 power play opportunities and have given up 52 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%. As a team, the Blue Jackets have a total of 282 goals scored while they've given up 234 goals to this point. They average 33 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 10.27%. As a team they give up 33 shots per game and have a save percentage of 91%.

Advanced Statistics

Columbus has a Corsi percentage of 49.5% as they've attempted 4,555 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,645 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is at 49.6% as they have 3,416 attempts while they've given up 3,466 shots on the defensive end. The Blue Jackets start possessions in the offensive zone 49.1% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.9% for the season. They have 2,402 face off wins compared to 2,537 losses, meaning their faceoff win percentage is 48.6%. On defense Columbus has 1,654 hits and they've blocked 1,179 shots from the opposition.

Advanced Statistics

Pittsburgh has attempted 4,814 shots at full strength and they've given up 4,855 attempts, meaning their Corsi percentage is at 49.8% for the season. In terms of Fenwick percentage, they currently are at 50.7% as they have 3,648 shots while they've given up 3,548 attempts on defense. The Penguins have an offensive zone percentage of 53.4% and their defensive zone percentage is 46.6% so far this season. They have a faceoff win percentage of 47.6% as they've compiled 2,452 face off wins this season and they have suffered 2,702 face off losses. On defense Pittsburgh has blocked 1,307 shot attempts and they have 2,060 hits as a unit.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Pittsburgh -205

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