Pittsburgh Penguins at Carolina Hurricanes NHL Picks & Predictions 12/29/2017

Friday, December 29, 2017

PNC Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins travel to PNC Arena to play the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, December 29, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Penguins at +102 and the Hurricanes at -113.

Pittsburgh has a record of 19-16-3 this season and on the road they have a record of 7-10-2-1. They are 7th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 109 goals and given up 122 goals for a point differential of -13. For the season they have an ATS record of 19-19-0 and an over/under record of 20-16-0. Carolina is 17-12-7 including 9-4-3-1 at home this season. They are 6th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 102 goals and surrendered 110 for a goal differential of -8. Their record against the spread is 17-19-0 while their over/under record is 17-17-0.

Valuable Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

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

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 20-16-0 against the over/under this season

Important Carolina Hurricanes Betting Trends

The Carolina Hurricanes are 17-19-0 straight up this year

The Carolina Hurricanes are 17-17-0 against the over/under this season

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

12/28/17 D Kris Letang Lower Body is "?" Friday vs Carolina
12/07/17 D Justin Schultz Lower Body IR (12/05)

Key Carolina Hurricanes Injuries

11/13/17 RW Lee Stempniak Hip IR (10/02)

Player Spotlight

Phil Kessel has accumulated 41 total points this season for the Penguins. He has 16 goals this year with 142 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 25 assists on the season and averages 18.7 minutes played per game. Sidney Crosby averages 20.8 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 14 goals on 114 shots. He has 21 assists, giving him a total of 35 points on the season. Matthew Murray has 14 wins and 10 losses this season in net for the Penguins. He has 774 shots against him and he's given up 74 goals. He's made 700 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Player Spotlight

Sebastian Aho has scored 27 total points this year for the Hurricanes. He has 10 goals this season with 104 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 17 assists on the season and averages 18.2 minutes played per game. Teuvo Teravainen averages 16.6 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 9 goals on 76 shots. He has 20 assists, giving him a total of 29 points on the season. Scott Darling has 8 wins and 10 losses this year in goal for the Hurricanes. He has 655 shots against him and he's surrendered 68 goals. He's made 587 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins have 41 total points this season, which ranks them 18th in the NHL. They are 16th in the league in goals scored with 109 while they've given up 122 goals, ranking them 4th overall. They have had 139 power play opportunities and have scored 35 goals on those chances for a percentage of 25%. That is 2nd in the NHL. The Penguins have allowed 139 power play opportunities and have given up 27 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, putting them 18th in the league when short-handed. They average 35 shots per game and as a team shoot 8.20% for the season. They allow 31 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%. That puts them 29th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Hurricanes are 16th in the NHL with a total of 41 points this year. They have 19 power play goals on 119 opportunities for a percentage of 16%. That ranks them 26th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 90 power play opportunities and have given up 20 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%. That is 25th in the NHL. As a team, the Hurricanes are 22nd in the league with 102 goals scored while they've given up 110 goals, which is 13th overall. They average 35 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 8.14%. As a team they give up 29 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 23rd in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Pittsburgh is 9th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 52.3%, as they've attempted 2,350 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,147 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 53.3% as they have 1,805 attempts while they have given up 1,582 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 3rd in the league. The Penguins start possessions in the offensive zone 54% of the time, which is 6th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 46% for the season. That is 26th overall in the NHL. They have 1,218 face-off wins compared to 1,178 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.8%. That ranks them 13th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 903 hits and they have blocked 565 shots from the opposition, putting them 7th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Hurricanes start possessions in the offensive zone 58.9% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 41.1% for the year. That ranks them 1st and 31st respectively in the NHL. They have 1,126 face-off wins as opposed to 1,002 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52.9%. That is 1st in the league. On defense Carolina has 678 hits and they've blocked 474 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 28th in blocked shots. Carolina is ranked 1st in Corsi percentage with 54.5% as they've tried 2,362 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,974 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 1st in the NHL at 53.9%, as they have 1,753 shots while they've given up 1,500 attempts on defense.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Carolina -113

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