Pittsburgh Penguins at Tampa Bay Lightning NHL Picks & Predictions 10/12/2017

Thursday, October 12, 2017

Amalie Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins travel to Amalie Arena to play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, October 12, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Penguins at -114 and the Lightning at -119.

Pittsburgh has a record of 1-1-1 this season and on the road they have a record of 0-1-0. They are 7th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 9 goals and given up 15 goals for a point differential of -6. For the season they have an ATS record of 1-2-0 and an over/under record of 2-1-0. Tampa Bay is 2-1-0 including 2-0-0 at home this season. They are 2nd in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 13 goals and surrendered 11 for a goal differential of +2. Their record against the spread is 2-1-0 while their over/under record is 3-0-0.

Valuable Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 1-2-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 2-1-0 against the over/under this season

Important Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Trends

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 2-1-0 straight up this year

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 3-0-0 against the over/under this season

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

10/10/17 D Ian Cole Mouth IR
10/09/17 RW Patric Hornqvist Hand "?" Wednesday vs. Washington

Key Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries

No key injuries to report

Player Spotlight

Sidney Crosby has accumulated 5 total points this season for the Penguins. He has 1 goal this year with 7 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 4 assists on the season and averages 19.3 minutes played per game. Evgeni Malkin averages 17 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by scoring 1 goal on 10 shots. He has 3 assists, giving him a total of 4 points on the season. Matthew Murray has 1 win and 0 losses this season in net for the Penguins. He has 91 shots against him and he's given up 11 goals. He's made 80 saves for a save percentage of 88%.

Player Spotlight

Brayden Point has scored 7 total points this year for the Lightning. He has 3 goals this season with 7 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 43%. He has a total of 4 assists on the season and averages 20 minutes played per game. Nikita Kucherov averages 21 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 27% by scoring 3 goals on 11 shots. He has 2 assists, giving him a total of 5 points on the season. Andrei Vasilevskiy has 2 wins and 1 loss this year in goal for the Lightning. He has 110 shots against him and he's surrendered 11 goals. He's made 99 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins have 3 total points this season, which ranks them 18th in the NHL. They are 12th in the league in goals scored with 9 while they've given up 15 goals, ranking them 3rd overall. They have had 12 power play opportunities and have scored 2 goals on those chances for a percentage of 17%. That is 15th in the NHL. The Penguins have allowed 15 power play opportunities and have given up 1 goal on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 93%, putting them 4th in the league when short-handed. They average 32 shots per game and as a team shoot 9.38% for the season. They allow 35 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 86%. That puts them 30th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Lightning are 14th in the NHL with a total of 4 points this year. They have 3 power play goals on 14 opportunities for a percentage of 21%. That ranks them 11th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 12 power play opportunities and have given up 3 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 75%. That is 25th in the NHL. As a team, the Lightning are 6th in the league with 13 goals scored while they've given up 11 goals, which is 10th overall. They average 32 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 13.68%. As a team they give up 37 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 16th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Pittsburgh is 23rd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48%, as they've attempted 171 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 185 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 48.9% as they have 131 attempts while they have given up 137 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 19th in the league. The Penguins start possessions in the offensive zone 53.2% of the time, which is 15th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 46.8% for the season. That is 19th overall in the NHL. They have 99 face-off wins compared to 105 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.5%. That ranks them 20th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 90 hits and they have blocked 48 shots from the opposition, putting them 11th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Lightning are 16th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 53.3% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 46.7% for the season, which is 20th in the NHL. They have 98 face-off wins compared to 101 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.2%. That is 21st in the league. On defense Tampa Bay has 70 hits and they have blocked 43 shots from the opposition, which is 15th in the league. Tampa Bay is 21st in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.3% as they've attempted 183 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 188 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 49.3% ranks 20th as they have 141 attempts while they have given up 145 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Tampa Bay -119

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