Columbus Blue Jackets at Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Picks & Predictions 12/21/2017

Thursday, December 21, 2017

PPG Paints Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Columbus Blue Jackets travel to PPG Paints Arena to play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, December 21, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Blue Jackets at +136 and the Penguins at -150.

Columbus has a record of 20-13-1 this season and on the road they have a record of 8-7-1. They are 4th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 97 goals and given up 93 goals for a point differential of +4. For the season they have an ATS record of 20-14-0 and an over/under record of 16-17-0. Pittsburgh has a record of 17-15-3 including 10-5-1 at home this season. They are 6th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 101 goals and surrendered 112 for a goal differential of -11. Their record against the spread is 17-18-0 while their over/under record is 19-14-0.

Valuable Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Trends

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 20-14-0 straight up this year

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 16-17-0 against the over/under this season

Important Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 17-18-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 19-14-0 against the over/under this season

Key Columbus Blue Jackets Injuries

12/13/17 C Brandon Dubinsky Facial IR (12/12)
12/01/17 D Ryan Murray Upper Body IR (11/27)

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

12/18/17 C Dominik Simon Illness is "?" Thursday vs Columbus
12/18/17 RW Patric Hornqvist Upper Body is "?" Thursday vs Columbus
12/07/17 D Justin Schultz Lower Body IR (12/05)

Player Spotlight

Sergei Bobrovsky has 17 wins and 10 losses this season in net for the Blue Jackets. He has 839 shots against him and he's given up 68 goals. He's made 771 saves for a save percentage of 92%. 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 minutes played per game. Josh Anderson averages 17.8 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by scoring 13 goals on 104 shots. He has 8 assists, giving him a total of 21 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Phil Kessel has scored 38 total points this year for the Penguins. He has 15 goals this season with 135 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 23 assists on the season and averages 18.7 minutes played per game. Tristan Jarry has 5 wins and 2 losses this year in goal for the Penguins. He has 272 shots against him and he's surrendered 22 goals. He's made 250 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Sidney Crosby averages 20.8 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by scoring 14 goals on 107 shots. He has 19 assists, giving him a total of 33 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blue Jackets have allowed 91 power play opportunities and have given up 16 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82% this year. That is 12th in the NHL. They average 34 shots per game and as a team shoot 8.34% for the season. They allow 31 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is ranked 11th in the league. The Blue Jackets has 41 total points this season, ranking 10th in the NHL in offense. They are 20th in the league with 97 goals while they've given up 93 goals, which is 24th overall. They have had 98 power play opportunities and scored 10 goals on those chances for a percentage of 10%. That is 31st in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Penguins are 16th with 101 goals scored while they are 6th in the NHL with 112 goals allowed this year. They average 35 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 8.27%. They give up 31 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them in 25th place in the league. The Penguins have a total of 37 points this year, which is 19th in the NHL. They have 31 power play goals on 128 opportunities for a percentage of 24%. That ranks their power play unit 4th. They've allowed 130 power play opportunities and have given up 25 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, which is 17th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Columbus is 7th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.8%, as they've attempted 2,034 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,893 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 52.9% as they have 1,568 attempts while they have given up 1,395 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 3rd in the league. The Blue Jackets start possessions in the offensive zone 51.2% of the time, which is 13th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 48.8% for the season. That is 16th overall in the NHL. They have 966 face-off wins compared to 1,065 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.6%. That ranks them 27th in the league. On defense Columbus has 743 hits and they have blocked 498 shots from the opposition, putting them 15th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Penguins start possessions in the offensive zone 53.9% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 46.1% for the year. That ranks them 5th and 25th respectively in the NHL. They have 1,107 face-off wins as opposed to 1,086 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.5%. That is 12th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 806 hits and they've blocked 529 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 4th in blocked shots. Pittsburgh is ranked 9th in Corsi percentage with 52% as they've tried 2,151 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,987 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 4th in the NHL at 53.1%, as they have 1,650 shots while they've given up 1,458 attempts on defense.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Pittsburgh -150

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