Montreal Canadiens at Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Picks & Predictions 3/31/2018

Saturday, March 31, 2018

PPG Paints Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Montreal Canadiens head to PPG Paints Arena to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, March 31, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Canadiens at +248 and the Penguins at -280.

Montreal has a record of 28-37-12 this year and away from home they have a record of 10-24-4-2. They are 6th in the Atlantic Division. They have tallied 196 goals and surrendered 245 goals for a point differential of -49. For the year they have an ATS mark of 28-49-0 and an over/under record of 34-41-0. Pittsburgh has a record of 44-28-6 including 28-8-2-0 on home ice this year. They are 2nd in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 257 goals and have given up 241 for a goal differential of +16. Their record against the spread is 44-34-0 while their over/under mark is 45-31-0.

Valuable Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends

The Montreal Canadiens are 28-49-0 straight up this year

The Montreal Canadiens are 34-41-0 against the over/under this season

Important Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 44-34-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 45-31-0 against the over/under this season

Key Montreal Canadiens Injuries

12/18/17 D Shea Weber Foot IR (12/17)
10/22/17 RW Ales Hemsky Concussion IR (10/20)
03/27/18 D David Schlemko Upper Body is upgraded to probable Saturday vs Pittsburgh
03/26/18 RW Andrew Shaw Head is out indefinitely
03/23/18 LW Phillip Danault Neck is out indefinitely
03/23/18 D Rinat Valiev Lower Body is out indefinitely
03/05/18 LW Max Pacioretty Lower Body is out for season
03/05/18 D Victor Mete Finger is out for season

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

03/29/18 C Derick Brassard Lower Body is "?" Saturday vs Montreal
03/17/18 RW Carter Rowney Upper Body is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Brendan Gallagher has scored 49 total points this year for the Canadiens. He has 30 goals this season with 261 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 19 assists on the year and averages 16 minutes played per contest. Alex Galchenyuk averages 16.1 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 9% by tallying 18 goals on 200 attempts. He has 30 assists, giving him a total of 48 points on the year. Carey Price has 16 wins and 24 losses this season in goal for the Canadiens. He has 1,393 shots against him and he's surrendered 137 goals. He's made 1,256 stops for a save percentage of 90%.

Player Spotlight

Phil Kessel has 85 total points this season for the Penguins. He has 30 goals this year with 251 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 55 assists on the year and averages 18.7 minutes played per contest. Sidney Crosby averages 20.7 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 28 goals on 234 attempts. He has 57 assists, giving him a total of 85 points on the year. Matt Murray has 25 wins and 15 losses this season in net for the Penguins. He has 1,333 shots against him and he's given up 124 goals. He's made 1,209 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canadiens have 68 total points this year, which is 27th in the NHL. They've scored 196 goals while giving up 245 scores, which has them ranked 29th and 8th respectively. They have had 229 power play chances and scored 48 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 21%. That is 13th in the league. The Canadiens have given up 243 power play opportunities and surrendered 62 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 74%, ranking them 31st when short-handed. They average 33 shots per contest and as a team shoot 7.73% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 21st in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins are 10th in the league with a total of 94 points this season. They have 62 power play goals on 241 chances for a percentage of 26%. That is 1st in the NHL. They've given up 252 power play opportunities and surrendered 51 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking 19th overall. As a team, the Penguins are 3rd with a total of 257 goals scored while they've given up 241 goals this season, ranking 11th in goals against. They average 34 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 9.56%. As a unit they give up 31 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 25th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Montreal is 17th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.8%, as they've attempted 4,709 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,747 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 49.8% as they have 3,431 attempts while they have given up 3,461 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 17th in the league. The Canadiens start possessions in the offensive zone 51.8% of the time, which is 11th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 48.2% for the season. That is 22nd overall in the NHL. They have 2,262 face-off wins compared to 2,481 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.7%. That ranks them 28th in the league. On defense Montreal has 2,026 hits and they have blocked 1,286 shots from the opposition, putting them 1st overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Penguins start possessions in the offensive zone 53% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 47% for the year. That ranks them 6th and 26th respectively in the NHL. They have 2,436 face-off wins as opposed to 2,424 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.1%. That is 18th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 1,851 hits and they've blocked 1,126 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 18th in blocked shots. Pittsburgh is ranked 5th in Corsi percentage with 51.7% as they've tried 4,729 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 4,411 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 7th in the NHL at 52.4%, as they have 3,620 shots while they've given up 3,285 attempts on defense.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Montreal +248

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