Minnesota Wild at Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Picks & Predictions 1/25/2018

Thursday, January 25, 2018

PPG Paints Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Minnesota Wild travel to PPG Paints Arena to play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, January 25, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Wild at +131 and the Penguins at -145.

Minnesota has a record of 26-17-5 this season and on the road they have a record of 9-13-1-1. They are 6th in the Central Division. They've scored 141 goals and given up 134 goals for a point differential of +7. For the season they have an ATS record of 26-22-0 and an over/under record of 24-22-0. Pittsburgh has a record of 26-21-3 including 16-7-1-0 at home this season. They are 5th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 145 goals and surrendered 150 for a goal differential of -5. Their record against the spread is 26-24-0 while their over/under record is 24-24-0.

Valuable Minnesota Wild Betting Trends

The Minnesota Wild are 26-22-0 straight up this year

The Minnesota Wild are 24-22-0 against the over/under this season

Important Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 26-24-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 24-24-0 against the over/under this season

Key Minnesota Wild Injuries

01/09/18 RW Nino Niederreiter Lower Body is out indefinitely

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

01/23/18 GO Matt Murray Personal is "?" Thursday vs Minnesota
01/17/18 D Chad Ruhwedel Upper Body IR (12/27)
01/04/18 RW Carter Rowney Upper Body IR (01/02)

Player Spotlight

Devan Dubnyk has 18 wins and 9 losses this season in net for the Wild. He has 947 shots against him and he's given up 77 goals. He's made 870 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Eric Staal has accumulated 41 total points this season for the Wild. He has 19 goals this year with 133 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 22 assists on the season and averages 18.2 minutes played per game. Jason Zucker averages 17.3 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by scoring 19 goals on 120 shots. He has 16 assists, giving him a total of 35 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Sidney Crosby has scored 52 total points this year for the Penguins. He has 17 goals this season with 140 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 35 assists on the season and averages 20.8 minutes played per game. Matthew Murray has 15 wins and 12 losses this year in goal for the Penguins. He has 847 shots against him and he's surrendered 82 goals. He's made 765 saves for a save percentage of 90%. Phil Kessel averages 18.7 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 21 goals on 180 shots. He has 34 assists, giving him a total of 55 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Wild have allowed 179 power play opportunities and have given up 30 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83% this year. That is 7th in the NHL. They average 30 shots per game and as a team shoot 9.83% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is ranked 11th in the league. The Wild has 57 total points this season, ranking 11th in the NHL in offense. They are 15th in the league with 141 goals while they've given up 134 goals, which is 20th overall. They have had 146 power play opportunities and scored 29 goals on those chances for a percentage of 20%. That is 15th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Penguins are 11th with 145 goals scored while they are 9th in the NHL with 150 goals allowed this year. They average 35 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 8.40%. They give up 31 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them in 24th place in the league. The Penguins have a total of 55 points this year, which is 19th in the NHL. They have 46 power play goals on 175 opportunities for a percentage of 26%. That ranks their power play unit 1st. They've allowed 170 power play opportunities and have given up 29 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, which is 8th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Minnesota has a Corsi percentage of 46.3% as they've tried 2,505 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,908 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 31st in Corsi percentage. They are 29th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 47.3% as they have 1,935 shots while they've given up 2,153 attempts on defense. The Wild start possessions in the offensive zone 48.3% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 51.7% for the year. That puts them 28th and 6th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,448 face-off wins as opposed to 1,426 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.4%. That is 17th overall in the NHL. On defense Minnesota has 830 hits and they've blocked 755 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 6th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Penguins are 7th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 52.5% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 47.5% for the season, which is 24th in the NHL. They have 1,586 face-off wins compared to 1,540 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.7%. That is 12th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 1,222 hits and they have blocked 730 shots from the opposition, which is 12th in the league. Pittsburgh is 7th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 52% as they've attempted 3,061 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,822 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 52.8% ranks 3rd as they have 2,339 attempts while they have given up 2,092 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Pittsburgh -145

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