Minnesota Wild at Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Picks & Predictions 12/20/2018

Thursday, December 20, 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, December 20, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Wild at +120 and the Penguins at -145.

Minnesota has a record of 17-14-2 this season. They are 5th in the Central Division. They've scored 101 goals and given up 95 goals for a point differential of +6. For the season they have an ATS record of 17-15-0 and an over/under record of 15-13-0. Pittsburgh is 15-12-6 this season. They are 4th in the Metropolitan Division. They have scored 112 goals and surrendered 108 for a goal differential of +4. Their record against the spread is 15-18-0 while their over/under record is 15-13-0.

Valuable Minnesota Wild Betting Trends

The Minnesota Wild are 17-15-0 straight up this year

The Minnesota Wild are 15-13-0 against the over/under this season

Important Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 15-18-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 15-13-0 against the over/under this season

Key Minnesota Wild Injuries

12/17/18 D Matt Dumba Upper 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

Zach Parise has accumulated 29 total points this season for the Wild. He has 15 goals this year with 90 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 17%. He has a total of 14 assists on the season and averages 18.4 minutes played per game. Jason Zucker averages 17.1 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by scoring 9 goals on 90 shots. He has 10 assists, giving him a total of 19 points on the season. Devan Dubnyk has 12 wins and 11 losses this season in net for the Wild. He has 744 shots against him and he's given up 66 goals. He's made 678 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Phil Kessel has scored 36 total points this year for the Penguins. He has 14 goals this season with 95 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 22 assists on the season and averages 18.6 minutes played per game. Evgeni Malkin averages 19 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by scoring 11 goals on 76 shots. He has 25 assists, giving him a total of 36 points on the season. Casey DeSmith has 10 wins and 6 losses this year in goal for the Penguins. He has 659 shots against him and he's surrendered 51 goals. He's made 608 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Wild have 36 total points this season, which ranks them 19th in the NHL. They are 17th in the league in goals scored with 101 while they've given up 95 goals, ranking them 24th overall. They have had 103 power play opportunities and have scored 25 goals on those chances for a percentage of 24%. That is 7th in the NHL. The Wild have allowed 98 power play opportunities and have given up 14 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 86%, putting them 2nd in the league when short-handed. They average 31 shots per game and as a team shoot 9.74% for the season. They allow 29 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%. That puts them 16th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins are 18th in the NHL with a total of 36 points this year. They have 21 power play goals on 92 opportunities for a percentage of 23%. That ranks them 9th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 95 power play opportunities and have given up 17 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%. That is 10th in the NHL. As a team, the Penguins are 9th in the league with 112 goals scored while they've given up 108 goals, which is 9th overall. They average 33 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 10.42%. As a team they give up 33 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 18th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Minnesota is 19th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.2%, as they've attempted 1,842 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,899 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 50.3% as they have 1,404 attempts while they have given up 1,387 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 15th in the league. The Wild start possessions in the offensive zone 50.8% of the time, which is 14th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.2% for the season. That is 18th overall in the NHL. They have 1,038 face-off wins compared to 979 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.5%. That ranks them 10th in the league. On defense Minnesota has 614 hits and they have blocked 512 shots from the opposition, putting them 7th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Penguins are 24th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 48.3% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 51.7% for the season, which is 8th in the NHL. They have 1,003 face-off wins compared to 1,012 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.8%. That is 18th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 1,008 hits and they have blocked 477 shots from the opposition, which is 16th in the league. Pittsburgh is 16th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.2% as they've attempted 1,930 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,911 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 50.4% ranks 14th as they have 1,456 attempts while they have given up 1,434 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Minnesota +120

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