Tuesday, April 4, 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 Tuesday, April 4, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Blue Jackets at +138 and the Penguins at -153.

Columbus comes into this matchup having played 78 games. They have an overall record of 49-21-8 and on the road they have a record of 21-10-7. Currently they are 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 239 goals and given up 180 goals for a point differential of +59. The Blue Jackets have an overall record of 5-3-2 in their last 10 games. For the season they have an ATS record of 47-29 and an over/under record of 30-42-6. Pittsburgh shows up with a record of 48-19-11 including 30-6-4 at home this season. They are 2nd in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 266 goals and surrendered 221 for a goal differential of +45. The Penguins have a record of 5-3-2 in their last 10 contests. Their record against the spread is 44-30 while their over/under record sits at 45-28-5.

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 47-29 straight up

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 30-42-6 against the over/under

Important Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 44-30 straight up

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 45-28-5 against the over/under

Key Columbus Blue Jackets Injuries

10/10/16 RW David Clarkson Back out indefinitely
04/02/17 LW Lukas Sedlak Upper Body "?" Tuesday vs. Pittsburgh
04/02/17 RW Oliver Bjorkstrand Upper Body out indefinitely
03/13/17 D Ryan Murray Hand out indefinitely

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

04/02/17 LW Chris Kunitz Lower Body out indefinitely
04/02/17 C Evgeni Malkin Upper Body "?" Tuesday vs. Columbus
04/02/17 LW Tom Sestito Upper Body out indefinitely
03/12/17 LW Carl Hagelin Lower Body out indefinitely
03/04/17 D Kris Letang Upper Body out indefinitely
02/23/17 D Trevor Daley Knee out indefinitely
02/17/17 D Olli Maatta Hand out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Zach Werenski has accumulated 47 total points this season for the Blue Jackets. He has 11 goals this season with 188 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 6%. He has a total of 36 assists on the season and averages 20.9 minutes played per game. Cam Atkinson has averaged 18.2 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by scoring 34 goals on 230 shots. He has 27 assists giving him a total of 61 points on the season. Sergei Bobrovsky has 41 wins and 15 losses this season in net for the Blue Jackets. He has had 1,803 shots against him and has given up 119 goals. He has made 1,684 saves for a save percentage of 93%.

Player Spotlight

Evgeni Malkin has accumulated 72 total points this season for the Penguins. He has 33 goals this season with 191 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 17%. He has a total of 39 assists on the season and averages 18.6 minutes played per game. Sidney Crosby has averaged 20 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 17% by scoring 43 goals on 250 shots. He has 41 assists giving him a total of 84 points on the season. Matthew Murray has 30 wins and 10 losses this season in net for the Penguins. He has had 1,373 shots against him and has given up 106 goals. He has made 1,267 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blue Jackets have 106 total points this season. They have scored 239 goals while giving up 180 goals. They have had 206 power play opportunities and have scored 41 goals on those chances for a percentage of 20%. The Blue Jackets have allowed 210 power play opportunities and given up 36 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%. They average 31 shots per game and as a team are shooting 9.93% for the season to this point. They allow 30 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 93%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins have a total of 107 points on the season. They have 57 power play goals on 252 opportunities thus far for a percentage of 23%. They have allowed 249 power play opportunities and have given up 49 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%. As a team, the Blue Jackets have a total of 266 goals scored while they've given up 221 goals to this point. They average 34 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 10.05%. As a team they give up 33 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%.

Advanced Statistics

Columbus has a Corsi percentage of 49.3% as they've attempted 4,311 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,428 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is at 49.5% as they have 3,242 attempts while they've given up 3,303 shots on the defensive end. The Blue Jackets start possessions in the offensive zone 49% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 51% for the season. They have 2,303 face off wins compared to 2,432 losses, meaning their faceoff win percentage is 48.6%. On defense Columbus has 1,529 hits and they've blocked 1,125 shots from the opposition.

Advanced Statistics

Pittsburgh has attempted 4,626 shots at full strength and they've given up 4,595 attempts, meaning their Corsi percentage is at 50.2% for the season. In terms of Fenwick percentage, they currently are at 51.2% as they have 3,510 shots while they've given up 3,352 attempts on defense. The Penguins have an offensive zone percentage of 53.7% and their defensive zone percentage is 46.3% so far this season. They have a faceoff win percentage of 47.6% as they've compiled 2,334 face off wins this season and they have suffered 2,570 face off losses. On defense Pittsburgh has blocked 1,243 shot attempts and they have 1,943 hits as a unit.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Pittsburgh -153

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