Pittsburgh Penguins at Minnesota Wild NHL Picks & Predictions 10/28/2017

Saturday, October 28, 2017

Xcel Energy Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins head to Xcel Energy Center to take on the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, October 28, 2017. The opening line for this contest has the Penguins at -115 and the Wild at +104.

Pittsburgh has a record of 7-3-1 this year and away from home they have a record of 3-3-0. They are 1st in the Metropolitan Division. They have tallied 34 goals and surrendered 41 goals for a point differential of -7. For the year they have an ATS mark of 7-4-0 and an over/under record of 7-4-0. Minnesota has a record of 3-3-2 including 1-1-1 on home ice this year. They are 7th in the Central Division. They've scored 28 goals and have given up 27 for a goal differential of +1. Their record against the spread is 3-5-0 while their over/under mark is 6-1-0.

Valuable Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 7-4-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 7-4-0 against the over/under this season

Important Minnesota Wild Betting Trends

The Minnesota Wild are 3-5-0 straight up this year

The Minnesota Wild are 6-1-0 against the over/under this season

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

10/25/17 D Justin Schultz Concussion is out indefinitely
10/23/17 RW Carter Rowney Undisclosed IR (10/23)
10/17/17 D Matt Hunwick Concussion IR (10/17)

Key Minnesota Wild Injuries

10/24/17 LW Zach Parise Back is out indefinitely
10/13/17 C Charlie Coyle Fibula IR (10/12)
10/13/17 RW Nino Niederreiter Ankle IR (10/12)

Player Spotlight

Evgeni Malkin has scored 11 total points this year for the Penguins. He has 3 goals this season with 27 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 8 assists on the year and averages 17.9 minutes played per contest. Sidney Crosby averages 20.2 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by tallying 5 goals on 42 attempts. He has 6 assists, giving him a total of 11 points on the year. Matthew Murray has 7 wins and 0 losses this season in goal for the Penguins. He has 283 shots against him and he's surrendered 25 goals. He's made 258 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Chris Stewart has 8 total points this season for the Wild. He has 6 goals this year with 16 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 38%. He has a total of 2 assists on the year and averages 13.8 minutes played per contest. Eric Staal averages 18.5 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 4 goals on 29 attempts. He has 3 assists, giving him a total of 7 points on the year. Devan Dubnyk has 2 wins and 3 losses this season in net for the Wild. He has 192 shots against him and he's given up 20 goals. He's made 172 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins have 15 total points this year, which is 3rd in the NHL. They've scored 34 goals while giving up 41 scores, which has them ranked 7th and 3rd respectively. They have had 44 power play chances and scored 12 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 27%. That is 5th in the league. The Penguins have given up 46 power play opportunities and surrendered 9 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking them 17th when short-handed. They average 36 shots per contest and as a team shoot 8.61% for the year. They allow 33 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 89%, which is 28th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Wild are 26th in the league with a total of 8 points this season. They have 6 power play goals on 25 chances for a percentage of 24%. That is 7th in the NHL. They've given up 35 power play opportunities and surrendered 7 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking 19th overall. As a team, the Wild are 19th with a total of 28 goals scored while they've given up 27 goals this season, ranking 19th in goals against. They average 30 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 11.57%. As a unit they give up 34 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 17th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Pittsburgh has a Corsi percentage of 49.7% as they've tried 663 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 670 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 14th in Corsi percentage. They are 11th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 50.7% as they have 506 shots while they've given up 492 attempts on defense. The Penguins start possessions in the offensive zone 52.4% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.6% for the year. That puts them 12th and 22nd in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 362 face-off wins as opposed to 368 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.6%. That is 19th overall in the NHL. On defense Pittsburgh has 254 hits and they've blocked 178 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 2nd in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Wild start possessions in the offensive zone 51% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 49% for the year. That ranks them 16th and 17th respectively in the NHL. They have 273 face-off wins as opposed to 238 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 53.4%. That is 5th in the league. On defense Minnesota has 151 hits and they've blocked 119 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 26th in blocked shots. Minnesota is ranked 29th in Corsi percentage with 45.7% as they've tried 409 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 486 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 29th in the NHL at 46.3%, as they have 317 shots while they've given up 367 attempts on defense.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Pittsburgh -115

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