Columbus Blue Jackets at Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Picks & Predictions 12/27/2017

Wednesday, December 27, 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 Wednesday, December 27, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Blue Jackets at +139 and the Penguins at -161.

Columbus has a record of 22-13-2 this season and on the road they have a record of 8-7-2-2. They are 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 105 goals and given up 99 goals for a point differential of +6. For the season they have an ATS record of 22-15-0 and an over/under record of 17-19-0. Pittsburgh is 18-16-3 including 11-6-1-0 at home this season. They are 7th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 104 goals and surrendered 118 for a goal differential of -14. Their record against the spread is 18-19-0 while their over/under record is 19-16-0.

Valuable Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Trends

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 22-15-0 straight up this year

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 17-19-0 against the over/under this season

Important Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 18-19-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 19-16-0 against the over/under this season

Key Columbus Blue Jackets Injuries

12/23/17 C Alexander Wennberg Undisclosed is "?" Wednesday vs Pittsburgh
12/23/17 D Zach Werenski Undisclosed is "?" Wednesday vs Pittsburgh
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

12/07/17 D Justin Schultz Lower Body IR (12/05)

Player Spotlight

Artemi Panarin has accumulated 31 total points this season for the Blue Jackets. He has 8 goals this year with 100 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 8%. He has a total of 23 assists on the season and averages 20.1 minutes played per game. Josh Anderson averages 17.9 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 11% by scoring 13 goals on 114 shots. He has 8 assists, giving him a total of 21 points on the season. Sergei Bobrovsky has 18 wins and 10 losses this season in net for the Blue Jackets. He has 911 shots against him and he's given up 71 goals. He's made 840 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Phil Kessel has scored 39 total points this year for the Penguins. He has 15 goals this season with 139 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 24 assists on the season and averages 18.8 minutes played per game. Sidney Crosby averages 20.8 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 14 goals on 113 shots. He has 20 assists, giving him a total of 34 points on the season. Matthew Murray has 13 wins and 10 losses this year in goal for the Penguins. He has 741 shots against him and he's surrendered 70 goals. He's made 671 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blue Jackets have 46 total points this season, which ranks them 7th in the NHL. They are 15th in the league in goals scored with 105 while they've given up 99 goals, ranking them 24th overall. They have had 107 power play opportunities and have scored 13 goals on those chances for a percentage of 12%. That is 31st in the NHL. The Blue Jackets have allowed 100 power play opportunities and have given up 18 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, putting them 14th in the league when short-handed. They average 34 shots per game and as a team shoot 8.28% for the season. They allow 31 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 92%. That puts them 10th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins are 21st in the NHL with a total of 39 points this year. They have 33 power play goals on 135 opportunities for a percentage of 24%. That ranks them 3rd in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 136 power play opportunities and have given up 27 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%. That is 19th in the NHL. As a team, the Penguins are 16th in the league with 104 goals scored while they've given up 118 goals, which is 6th overall. They average 35 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 8.05%. As a team they give up 31 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 29th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Columbus has a Corsi percentage of 51.3% as they've tried 2,207 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,097 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 11th in Corsi percentage. They are 8th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 52.3% as they have 1,709 shots while they've given up 1,557 attempts on defense. The Blue Jackets start possessions in the offensive zone 50.6% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.4% for the year. That puts them 12th and 16th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,066 face-off wins as opposed to 1,168 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.7%. That is 26th overall in the NHL. On defense Columbus has 811 hits and they've blocked 540 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 12th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Penguins are 6th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 54.2% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 45.8% for the season, which is 25th in the NHL. They have 1,175 face-off wins compared to 1,149 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.6%. That is 12th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 867 hits and they have blocked 549 shots from the opposition, which is 9th in the league. Pittsburgh is 9th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 52.3% as they've attempted 2,283 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,083 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 53.4% ranks 3rd as they have 1,755 attempts while they have given up 1,534 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Pittsburgh -161

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