Boston Bruins at Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Picks & Predictions 12/14/2018

Friday, December 14, 2018

PPG Paints Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Boston Bruins travel to PPG Paints Arena to play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday, December 14, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Bruins at +122 and the Penguins at -135.

Boston has a record of 17-10-4 this season. They are 4th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 85 goals and given up 79 goals for a point differential of +6. For the season they have an ATS record of 17-14-0 and an over/under record of 10-20-0. Pittsburgh is 13-11-6 this season. They are 4th in the Metropolitan Division. They have scored 101 goals and surrendered 98 for a goal differential of +3. Their record against the spread is 13-17-0 while their over/under record is 13-13-0.

Valuable Boston Bruins Betting Trends

The Boston Bruins are 17-14-0 straight up this year

The Boston Bruins are 10-20-0 against the over/under this season

Important Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 13-17-0 straight up this year

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

Key Boston Bruins Injuries

12/12/18 LW Jake DeBrusk Upper Body is questionable Friday vs Pittsburgh
11/29/18 D Kevan Miller Throat is out indefinitely
11/22/18 C Patrice Bergeron Upper Body is OUT 4-6 weeks
11/16/18 D Zdeno Chara Lower Body is out indefinitely

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

12/12/18 RW Patric Hornqvist Upper Body IR (12/12)
12/07/18 LW Dominik Simon Lower Body is out indefinitely
10/15/18 D Justin Schultz Lower Body is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Brad Marchand has accumulated 32 total points this season for the Bruins. He has 10 goals this year with 90 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 22 assists on the season and averages 19.9 minutes played per game. David Pastrnak averages 19.3 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 17% by scoring 21 goals on 121 shots. He has 17 assists, giving him a total of 38 points on the season. Tuukka Rask has 8 wins and 6 losses this season in net for the Bruins. He has 455 shots against him and he's given up 38 goals. He's made 417 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Phil Kessel has scored 33 total points this year for the Penguins. He has 12 goals this season with 88 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 21 assists on the season and averages 18.7 minutes played per game. Evgeni Malkin averages 19.1 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by scoring 10 goals on 69 shots. He has 23 assists, giving him a total of 33 points on the season. Casey DeSmith has 9 wins and 5 losses this year in goal for the Penguins. He has 573 shots against him and he's surrendered 45 goals. He's made 528 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Bruins have 38 total points this season, which ranks them 10th in the NHL. They are 26th in the league in goals scored with 85 while they've given up 79 goals, ranking them 30th overall. They have had 99 power play opportunities and have scored 26 goals on those chances for a percentage of 26%. That is 6th in the NHL. The Bruins have allowed 94 power play opportunities and have given up 22 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%, putting them 24th in the league when short-handed. They average 32 shots per game and as a team shoot 8.66% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 92%. That puts them 1st in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins are 19th in the NHL with a total of 32 points this year. They have 19 power play goals on 84 opportunities for a percentage of 23%. That ranks them 10th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 88 power play opportunities and have given up 15 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%. That is 8th in the NHL. As a team, the Penguins are 10th in the league with 101 goals scored while they've given up 98 goals, which is 10th overall. They average 33 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 10.30%. As a team they give up 32 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 18th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Boston is 14th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.4%, as they've attempted 1,800 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,772 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 50.3% as they have 1,385 attempts while they have given up 1,369 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 16th in the league. The Bruins start possessions in the offensive zone 53.7% of the time, which is 7th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 46.3% for the season. That is 25th overall in the NHL. They have 922 face-off wins compared to 949 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.3%. That ranks them 19th in the league. On defense Boston has 689 hits and they have blocked 403 shots from the opposition, putting them 27th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Penguins are 21st in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 48.7% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 51.3% for the season, which is 10th in the NHL. They have 929 face-off wins compared to 914 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.4%. That is 14th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 899 hits and they have blocked 435 shots from the opposition, which is 16th in the league. Pittsburgh is 10th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51% as they've attempted 1,782 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,712 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 51.3% ranks 11th as they have 1,343 attempts while they have given up 1,277 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Boston +122

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