New York Islanders at Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Picks & Predictions 12/6/2018

Thursday, December 6, 2018

PPG Paints Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The New York Islanders head to PPG Paints Arena to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, December 6, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Islanders at +155 and the Penguins at -190.

New York has a record of 13-10-3 this year. They are 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. They've tallied 77 goals and surrendered 75 goals for a point differential of +2. For the year they have an ATS mark of 13-12-0 and an over/under record of 10-13-0. Pittsburgh has a record of 11-10-5 this season. They are 6th in the Metropolitan Division. They have scored 89 goals and given up 87 for a goal differential of +2. Their record against the spread is 10-15-0 while their over/under mark is 10-11-0.

Valuable New York Islanders Betting Trends

The New York Islanders are 13-12-0 straight up this year

The New York Islanders are 10-13-0 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 New York Islanders Injuries

11/15/18 C Casey Cizikas Lower Body IR (11/15)
10/04/18 C John Stevens Undisclosed is out indefinitely
10/04/18 RW Matt Lorito Undisclosed is out indefinitely
10/01/18 LW Andrew Ladd Undisclosed 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

Anders Lee has scored 21 total points this year for the Islanders. He has 10 goals this season with 79 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He has a total of 11 assists on the year and averages 17.7 minutes played per contest. Josh Bailey averages 17.5 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 17% by tallying 7 goals on 42 attempts. He has 15 assists, giving him a total of 22 points on the year. Thomas Greiss has 9 wins and 5 losses this season in goal for the Islanders. He has 480 shots against him and he's surrendered 36 goals. He's made 444 stops for a save percentage of 93%.

Player Spotlight

Phil Kessel has 29 total points this season for the Penguins. He has 10 goals this year with 71 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 19 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 17% by scoring 10 goals on 60 attempts. He has 22 assists, giving him a total of 32 points on the year. Casey DeSmith has 7 wins and 4 losses this season in net for the Penguins. He has 467 shots against him and he's given up 36 goals. He's made 431 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Islanders have 29 total points this year, which is 17th in the NHL. They've scored 77 goals while giving up 75 scores, which has them ranked 21st and 25th respectively. They have had 80 power play chances and scored 12 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 15%. That is 28th in the league. The Islanders have given up 82 power play opportunities and surrendered 18 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, ranking them 19th when short-handed. They average 28 shots per contest and as a team shoot 10.52% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 8th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins are 25th in the league with a total of 27 points this season. They have 18 power play goals on 73 chances for a percentage of 25%. That is 8th in the NHL. They've given up 75 power play opportunities and surrendered 13 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, ranking 6th overall. As a team, the Penguins are 11th with a total of 89 goals scored while they've given up 87 goals this season, ranking 13th in goals against. They average 33 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 10.47%. As a unit they give up 33 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 18th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

New York is 28th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 46%, as they've attempted 1,322 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,550 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 46.1% as they have 988 attempts while they have given up 1,156 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 27th in the league. The Islanders start possessions in the offensive zone 47% of the time, which is 29th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 53% for the season. That is 3rd overall in the NHL. They have 697 face-off wins compared to 771 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.5%. That ranks them 27th in the league. On defense New York has 643 hits and they have blocked 394 shots from the opposition, putting them 13th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Penguins are 27th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 47.9% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 52.1% for the season, which is 5th in the NHL. They have 814 face-off wins compared to 816 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.9%. That is 15th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 781 hits and they have blocked 368 shots from the opposition, which is 24th in the league. Pittsburgh is 14th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.3% as they've attempted 1,529 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,510 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 50.4% ranks 15th as they have 1,160 attempts while they have given up 1,142 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take New York +155

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