Carolina Hurricanes at Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Picks & Predictions 1/4/2018

Thursday, January 4, 2018

PPG Paints Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Carolina Hurricanes head to PPG Paints Arena to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, January 4, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Hurricanes at +140 and the Penguins at -155.

Carolina has a record of 18-13-8 this year and away from home they have a record of 8-9-4-2. They are 5th in the Metropolitan Division. They have tallied 110 goals and surrendered 119 goals for a point differential of -9. For the year they have an ATS mark of 18-21-0 and an over/under record of 18-19-0. Pittsburgh has a record of 20-18-3 including 12-6-1-0 on home ice this year. They are 7th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 116 goals and have given up 129 for a goal differential of -13. Their record against the spread is 20-21-0 while their over/under mark is 21-18-0.

Valuable Carolina Hurricanes Betting Trends

The Carolina Hurricanes are 18-21-0 straight up this year

The Carolina Hurricanes are 18-19-0 against the over/under this season

Important Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 20-21-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 21-18-0 against the over/under this season

Key Carolina Hurricanes Injuries

11/13/17 RW Lee Stempniak Hip IR (10/02)
01/02/18 C Marcus Kruger Lower Body is "?" Thursday vs Pittsburgh

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

12/29/17 RW Bryan Rust Upper Body IR (12/27)
12/29/17 D Chad Ruhwedel Upper Body IR (12/27)
01/02/18 GO Tristan Jarry Wrist left last game, is "?" Thursday vs Carolina

Player Spotlight

Sebastian Aho has scored 30 total points this year for the Hurricanes. He has 11 goals this season with 114 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 19 assists on the year and averages 18.2 minutes played per contest. Teuvo Teravainen averages 16.7 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by tallying 10 goals on 81 attempts. He has 20 assists, giving him a total of 30 points on the year. Scott Darling has 8 wins and 11 losses this season in goal for the Hurricanes. He has 684 shots against him and he's surrendered 71 goals. He's made 613 stops for a save percentage of 90%.

Player Spotlight

Phil Kessel has 44 total points this season for the Penguins. He has 17 goals this year with 152 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 27 assists on the year and averages 18.8 minutes played per contest. Sidney Crosby averages 20.8 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 14 goals on 119 attempts. He has 22 assists, giving him a total of 36 points on the year. Matthew Murray has 14 wins and 11 losses this season in net for the Penguins. He has 808 shots against him and he's given up 78 goals. He's made 730 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Hurricanes have 44 total points this year, which is 17th in the NHL. They've scored 110 goals while giving up 119 scores, which has them ranked 21st and 12th respectively. They have had 127 power play chances and scored 20 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 16%. That is 26th in the league. The Hurricanes have given up 96 power play opportunities and surrendered 20 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, ranking them 24th when short-handed. They average 35 shots per contest and as a team shoot 8.15% for the year. They allow 29 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 25th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins are 20th in the league with a total of 43 points this season. They have 38 power play goals on 146 chances for a percentage of 26%. That is 1st in the NHL. They've given up 146 power play opportunities and surrendered 27 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, ranking 14th overall. As a team, the Penguins are 15th with a total of 116 goals scored while they've given up 129 goals this season, ranking 6th in goals against. They average 35 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.17%. As a unit they give up 30 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 26th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Carolina has a Corsi percentage of 54.7% as they've tried 2,547 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,113 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 1st in Corsi percentage. They are 1st in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 54% as they have 1,892 shots while they've given up 1,609 attempts on defense. The Hurricanes start possessions in the offensive zone 59% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 41% for the year. That puts them 1st and 31st in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,207 face-off wins as opposed to 1,097 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52.4%. That is 3rd overall in the NHL. On defense Carolina has 754 hits and they've blocked 504 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 30th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Penguins are 5th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 53.6% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 46.4% for the season, which is 27th in the NHL. They have 1,318 face-off wins compared to 1,265 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51%. That is 11th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 983 hits and they have blocked 613 shots from the opposition, which is 9th in the league. Pittsburgh is 9th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 52% as they've attempted 2,508 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,317 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 53.1% ranks 3rd as they have 1,927 attempts while they have given up 1,704 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Carolina +140

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