Pittsburgh Penguins at Arizona Coyotes NHL Picks & Predictions 12/16/2017

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Gila River Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins head to Gila River Arena to take on the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday, December 16, 2017. The opening line for this contest has the Penguins at -165 and the Coyotes at +149.

Pittsburgh has a record of 16-13-3 this year and away from home they have a record of 6-9-2. They are 6th in the Metropolitan Division. They have tallied 95 goals and surrendered 106 goals for a point differential of -11. For the year they have an ATS mark of 16-17-0 and an over/under record of 18-14-0. Arizona has a record of 7-21-5 including 3-9-1 on home ice this year. They are 8th in the Pacific Division. They've scored 76 goals and have given up 118 for a goal differential of -42. Their record against the spread is 7-27-0 while their over/under mark is 14-19-0.

Valuable Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 16-17-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 18-14-0 against the over/under this season

Important Arizona Coyotes Betting Trends

The Arizona Coyotes are 7-27-0 straight up this year

The Arizona Coyotes are 14-19-0 against the over/under this season

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

12/14/17 RW Tom Kuhnhackl Upper Body is "?" Saturday vs Arizona
12/07/17 D Justin Schultz Lower Body IR (12/06)

Key Arizona Coyotes Injuries

12/14/17 LW Zac Rinaldo Illness is "?" Saturday vs Pittsburgh
12/02/17 D Niklas Hjalmarsson Upper Body IR (11/28)

Player Spotlight

Phil Kessel has scored 37 total points this year for the Penguins. He has 15 goals this season with 125 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 22 assists on the year and averages 18.6 minutes played per contest. Sidney Crosby averages 20.7 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by tallying 13 goals on 105 attempts. He has 19 assists, giving him a total of 32 points on the year. Tristan Jarry has 5 wins and 2 losses this season in goal for the Penguins. He has 272 shots against him and he's surrendered 22 goals. He's made 250 stops for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Oliver Ekman-Larsson has 18 total points this season for the Coyotes. He has 6 goals this year with 91 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 7%. He has a total of 12 assists on the year and averages 25 minutes played per contest. Clayton Keller averages 18.8 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 11 goals on 93 attempts. He has 12 assists, giving him a total of 23 points on the year. Antti Raanta has 4 wins and 6 losses this season in net for the Coyotes. He has 372 shots against him and he's given up 30 goals. He's made 342 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins have 35 total points this year, which is 17th in the NHL. They've scored 94 goals while giving up 104 scores, which has them ranked 14th and 5th respectively. They have had 118 power play chances and scored 31 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 26%. That is 2nd in the league. The Penguins have given up 122 power play opportunities and surrendered 24 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking them 19th when short-handed. They average 35 shots per contest and as a team shoot 8.30% for the year. They allow 31 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 28th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Coyotes are 31st in the league with a total of 19 points this season. They have 17 power play goals on 102 chances for a percentage of 17%. That is 24th in the NHL. They've given up 87 power play opportunities and surrendered 16 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, ranking 14th overall. As a team, the Coyotes are 30th with a total of 75 goals scored while they've given up 114 goals this season, ranking 1st in goals against. They average 30 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 7.55%. As a unit they give up 33 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 29th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Pittsburgh is 10th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.8%, as they've attempted 1,965 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,829 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 53% as they have 1,517 attempts while they have given up 1,347 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 6th in the league. The Penguins start possessions in the offensive zone 53.6% of the time, which is 7th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 46.4% for the season. That is 26th overall in the NHL. They have 1,020 face-off wins compared to 1,014 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.1%. That ranks them 19th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 766 hits and they have blocked 482 shots from the opposition, putting them 3rd overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Coyotes start possessions in the offensive zone 47.9% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 52.1% for the year. That ranks them 25th and 6th respectively in the NHL. They have 1,007 face-off wins as opposed to 1,100 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.8%. That is 26th in the league. On defense Arizona has 779 hits and they've blocked 481 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 4th in blocked shots. Arizona is ranked 16th in Corsi percentage with 48.6% as they've tried 1,906 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,019 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 23rd in the NHL at 47.8%, as they have 1,411 shots while they've given up 1,538 attempts on defense.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Pittsburgh -165

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