New York Islanders at Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Picks & Predictions 3/3/2018

Saturday, March 3, 2018

PPG Paints Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The New York Islanders travel to PPG Paints Arena to play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, March 3, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Islanders at +113 and the Penguins at -125.

New York has a record of 29-28-7 this season and on the road they have a record of 13-17-3-1. They are 7th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 208 goals and given up 228 goals for a point differential of -20. For the season they have an ATS record of 29-35-0 and an over/under record of 38-23-0. Pittsburgh is 36-25-4 including 23-8-1-0 at home this season. They are 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 212 goals and surrendered 198 for a goal differential of +14. Their record against the spread is 36-29-0 while their over/under record is 35-28-0.

Valuable New York Islanders Betting Trends

The New York Islanders are 29-35-0 straight up this year

The New York Islanders are 38-23-0 against the over/under this season

Important Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 36-29-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 35-28-0 against the over/under this season

Key New York Islanders Injuries

12/18/17 D Calvin de Haan Shoulder IR (12/16)
11/08/17 LW Nikolay Kulemin Shoulder IR (11/06)
02/24/18 C Alan Quine Lower Body IR (02/22)
02/19/18 GO Thomas Greiss Lower Body IR (02/16)
02/08/18 D Scott Mayfield Lower Body IR (02/06)
01/20/18 LW Shane Prince Upper Body IR (01/18)

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

03/01/18 RW Zach Aston-Reese Upper Body is out indefinitely
02/27/18 GO Matt Murray Concussion is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Josh Bailey has accumulated 62 total points this season for the Islanders. He has 15 goals this year with 113 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He has a total of 47 assists on the season and averages 18.1 minutes played per game. Anders Lee averages 17.3 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 19% by scoring 30 goals on 162 shots. He has 18 assists, giving him a total of 48 points on the season. Jaroslav Halak has 18 wins and 21 losses this season in net for the Islanders. He has 1,512 shots against him and he's given up 135 goals. He's made 1,377 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Phil Kessel has scored 72 total points this year for the Penguins. He has 27 goals this season with 220 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 45 assists on the season and averages 18.8 minutes played per game. Sidney Crosby averages 20.8 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 11% by scoring 21 goals on 186 shots. He has 48 assists, giving him a total of 69 points on the season. Casey DeSmith has 3 wins and 4 losses this year in goal for the Penguins. He has 231 shots against him and he's surrendered 20 goals. He's made 211 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Islanders have 65 total points this season, which ranks them 22nd in the NHL. They are 6th in the league in goals scored with 208 while they've given up 228 goals, ranking them 1st overall. They have had 197 power play opportunities and have scored 41 goals on those chances for a percentage of 21%. That is 13th in the NHL. The Islanders have allowed 183 power play opportunities and have given up 47 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 74%, putting them 30th in the league when short-handed. They average 31 shots per game and as a team shoot 10.46% for the season. They allow 36 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%. That puts them 26th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins are 13th in the NHL with a total of 76 points this year. They have 55 power play goals on 208 opportunities for a percentage of 26%. That ranks them 1st in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 215 power play opportunities and have given up 40 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%. That is 14th in the NHL. As a team, the Penguins are 5th in the league with 212 goals scored while they've given up 198 goals, which is 8th overall. They average 34 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 9.56%. As a team they give up 31 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 24th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

New York has a Corsi percentage of 47.2% as they've tried 3,652 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 4,082 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 29th in Corsi percentage. They are 30th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 46.5% as they have 2,688 shots while they've given up 3,094 attempts on defense. The Islanders start possessions in the offensive zone 46.9% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 53.1% for the year. That puts them 31st and 2nd in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,865 face-off wins as opposed to 1,988 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.4%. That is 28th overall in the NHL. On defense New York has 1,439 hits and they've blocked 988 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 9th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Penguins are 12th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 51.8% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 48.2% for the season, which is 22nd in the NHL. They have 2,040 face-off wins compared to 2,021 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.2%. That is 15th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 1,574 hits and they have blocked 952 shots from the opposition, which is 14th in the league. Pittsburgh is 11th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.3% as they've attempted 3,920 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,719 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 51.9% ranks 7th as they have 2,988 attempts while they have given up 2,767 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Pittsburgh -125

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