Colorado Avalanche at Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Picks & Predictions 12/4/2018

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

PPG Paints Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Colorado Avalanche head to PPG Paints Arena to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, December 4, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Avalanche at +108 and the Penguins at -141.

Colorado has a record of 16-6-5 this year. They are 2nd in the Central Division. They've tallied 99 goals and surrendered 73 goals for a point differential of +26. For the year they have an ATS mark of 15-11-0 and an over/under record of 13-13-0. Pittsburgh has a record of 10-10-5 this season. They are 6th in the Metropolitan Division. They have scored 83 goals and given up 84 for a goal differential of -1. Their record against the spread is 10-15-0 while their over/under mark is 10-11-0.

Valuable Colorado Avalanche Betting Trends

The Colorado Avalanche are 15-11-0 straight up this year

The Colorado Avalanche are 13-13-0 against the over/under this season

Important Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 10-15-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 10-11-0 against the over/under this season

Key Colorado Avalanche Injuries

12/01/18 D Tyson Barrie Undisclosed is questionable Sunday vs Detroit
10/18/18 LW J.T. Compher Head is out indefinitely
10/04/18 D Anton Lindholm Undisclosed is out indefinitely
10/04/18 D Conor Timmins Concussion is out indefinitely
10/01/18 RW Sven Andrighetto Lower Body is out indefinitely

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

11/23/18 GO Matt Murray Lower Body is out indefinitely
11/19/18 C Matt Cullen Lower Body is out indefinitely
10/15/18 D Justin Schultz Lower Body is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Nathan MacKinnon has scored 43 total points this year for the Avalanche. He has 19 goals this season with 117 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 24 assists on the year and averages 22 minutes played per contest. Mikko Rantanen averages 20.9 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 19% by tallying 11 goals on 59 attempts. He has 34 assists, giving him a total of 45 points on the year. Semyon Varlamov has 10 wins and 5 losses this season in goal for the Avalanche. He has 569 shots against him and he's surrendered 40 goals. He's made 529 stops for a save percentage of 93%.

Player Spotlight

Phil Kessel has 28 total points this season for the Penguins. He has 10 goals this year with 69 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 18 assists on the year and averages 18.4 minutes played per contest. Evgeni Malkin averages 18.9 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by scoring 9 goals on 58 attempts. He has 21 assists, giving him a total of 30 points on the year. Casey DeSmith has 6 wins and 4 losses this season in net for the Penguins. He has 422 shots against him and he's given up 33 goals. He's made 389 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Avalanche have 37 total points this year, which is 5th in the NHL. They've scored 99 goals while giving up 73 scores, which has them ranked 2nd and 24th respectively. They have had 87 power play chances and scored 28 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 32%. That is 1st in the league. The Avalanche have given up 99 power play opportunities and surrendered 19 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, ranking them 11th when short-handed. They average 30 shots per contest and as a team shoot 12.07% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 92%, which is 5th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins are 25th in the league with a total of 25 points this season. They have 17 power play goals on 70 chances for a percentage of 24%. That is 8th in the NHL. They've given up 72 power play opportunities and surrendered 12 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, ranking 6th overall. As a team, the Penguins are 13th with a total of 83 goals scored while they've given up 84 goals this season, ranking 12th in goals against. They average 33 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 10.15%. As a unit they give up 32 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 22nd overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Colorado is 25th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 47%, as they've attempted 1,435 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,617 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 47.6% as they have 1,077 attempts while they have given up 1,187 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 25th in the league. The Avalanche start possessions in the offensive zone 51.8% of the time, which is 12th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 48.2% for the season. That is 21st overall in the NHL. They have 765 face-off wins compared to 874 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 46.7%. That ranks them 31st in the league. On defense Colorado has 536 hits and they have blocked 430 shots from the opposition, putting them 4th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Penguins are 25th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 48.1% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 51.9% for the season, which is 6th in the NHL. They have 779 face-off wins compared to 789 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.7%. That is 16th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 748 hits and they have blocked 352 shots from the opposition, which is 24th in the league. Pittsburgh is 12th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.7% as they've attempted 1,475 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,432 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 50.9% ranks 13th as they have 1,121 attempts while they have given up 1,080 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Colorado +108

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