Pittsburgh Penguins at Vegas Golden Knights NHL Picks & Predictions 12/14/2017

Thursday, December 14, 2017

T-Mobile Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins head to T-Mobile Arena to take on the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, December 14, 2017. The opening line for this contest has the Penguins at -110 and the Golden Knights at +100.

Pittsburgh has a record of 16-13-3 this year and away from home they have a record of 6-8-2. They are 6th in the Metropolitan Division. They have tallied 94 goals and surrendered 104 goals for a point differential of -10. For the year they have an ATS mark of 16-16-0 and an over/under record of 18-13-0. Vegas has a record of 19-9-2 including 11-2-1 on home ice this year. They are 2nd in the Pacific Division. They've scored 105 goals and have given up 94 for a goal differential of +11. Their record against the spread is 19-11-0 while their over/under mark is 19-9-0.

Valuable Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

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

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 18-13-0 against the over/under this season

Important Vegas Golden Knights Betting Trends

The Vegas Golden Knights are 19-11-0 straight up this year

The Vegas Golden Knights are 19-9-0 against the over/under this season

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

12/11/17 RW Tom Kuhnhackl Upper Body is "?" Thursday vs Vegas
12/07/17 D Justin Schultz Lower Body IR (12/06)

Key Vegas Golden Knights Injuries

11/30/17 LW William Carrier Upper Body IR (11/26)
10/31/17 GO Oscar Dansk Lower Body IR (10/30)
10/15/17 RW David Clarkson Back IR (10/03)
10/15/17 C Mikhail Grabovski Concussion IR (10/03)
10/06/17 D Clayton Stoner Abdominal IR (10/02)

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

James Neal has 23 total points this season for the Golden Knights. He has 14 goals this year with 87 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 9 assists on the year and averages 17.5 minutes played per contest. David Perron averages 17.7 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by scoring 7 goals on 43 attempts. He has 16 assists, giving him a total of 23 points on the year. Marc-Andre Fleury has 3 wins and 2 losses this season in net for the Golden Knights. He has 171 shots against him and he's given up 12 goals. He's made 159 saves for a save percentage of 93%.

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 13th and 4th 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 Golden Knights are 7th in the league with a total of 40 points this season. They have 19 power play goals on 103 chances for a percentage of 18%. That is 19th in the NHL. They've given up 95 power play opportunities and surrendered 20 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, ranking 23rd overall. As a team, the Golden Knights are 5th with a total of 105 goals scored while they've given up 94 goals this season, ranking 12th in goals against. They average 32 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 10.86%. As a unit they give up 31 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 21st 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 2nd overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Golden Knights start possessions in the offensive zone 50.3% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.7% for the year. That ranks them 19th and 14th respectively in the NHL. They have 965 face-off wins as opposed to 953 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.3%. That is 20th in the league. On defense Vegas has 568 hits and they've blocked 465 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 10th in blocked shots. Vegas is ranked 13th in Corsi percentage with 50.9% as they've tried 1,813 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,747 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 13th in the NHL at 51.2%, as they have 1,345 shots while they've given up 1,282 attempts on defense.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Pittsburgh -110

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