Philadelphia Flyers at Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Picks & Predictions 12/1/2018

Saturday, December 1, 2018

PPG Paints Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Philadelphia Flyers head to PPG Paints Arena to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, December 1, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Flyers at +160 and the Penguins at -195.

Philadelphia has a record of 10-12-2 this year. They are 8th in the Metropolitan Division. They've tallied 72 goals and surrendered 86 goals for a point differential of -14. For the year they have an ATS mark of 10-14-0 and an over/under record of 15-9-0. Pittsburgh has a record of 10-9-5 this season. They are 6th in the Metropolitan Division. They have scored 81 goals and given up 80 for a goal differential of +1. Their record against the spread is 10-14-0 while their over/under mark is 10-10-0.

Valuable Philadelphia Flyers Betting Trends

The Philadelphia Flyers are 10-14-0 straight up this year

The Philadelphia Flyers are 15-9-0 against the over/under this season

Important Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 10-14-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 10-10-0 against the over/under this season

Key Philadelphia Flyers Injuries

11/30/18 GO Michal Neuvirth Undisclosed is questionable Saturday vs Pittsburgh
11/16/18 GO Brian Elliott Lower Body is out indefinitely
10/30/18 C Corban Knight Upper Body IR (10/28)
10/03/18 D Samuel Morin Knee IR (10/03)

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

11/28/18 RW Patric Hornqvist Concussion is questionable
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

Claude Giroux has scored 29 total points this year for the Flyers. He has 8 goals this season with 73 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 21 assists on the year and averages 20.7 minutes played per contest. Jakub Voracek averages 18.2 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by tallying 6 goals on 58 attempts. He has 12 assists, giving him a total of 18 points on the year. Calvin Pickard has 4 wins and 2 losses this season in goal for the Flyers. He has 227 shots against him and he's surrendered 31 goals. He's made 196 stops for a save percentage of 86%.

Player Spotlight

Evgeni Malkin has 30 total points this season for the Penguins. He has 9 goals this year with 55 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 21 assists on the year and averages 19 minutes played per contest. Phil Kessel averages 18.5 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by scoring 10 goals on 68 attempts. He has 18 assists, giving him a total of 28 points on the year. Casey DeSmith has 6 wins and 3 losses this season in net for the Penguins. He has 397 shots against him and he's given up 30 goals. He's made 367 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Flyers have 22 total points this year, which is 28th in the NHL. They've scored 72 goals while giving up 86 scores, which has them ranked 22nd and 4th respectively. They have had 70 power play chances and scored 11 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 16%. That is 26th in the league. The Flyers have given up 79 power play opportunities and surrendered 23 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 71%, ranking them 30th when short-handed. They average 32 shots per contest and as a team shoot 9.42% for the year. They allow 30 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 88%, which is 31st in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins are 23rd in the league with a total of 25 points this season. They have 17 power play goals on 69 chances for a percentage of 25%. That is 8th in the NHL. They've given up 69 power play opportunities and surrendered 12 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 81 goals scored while they've given up 80 goals this season, ranking 9th in goals against. They average 33 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 10.31%. As a unit they give up 32 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 17th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Philadelphia is 8th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 52.1%, as they've attempted 1,443 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,329 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 52.6% as they have 1,086 attempts while they have given up 978 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 7th in the league. The Flyers start possessions in the offensive zone 48.2% of the time, which is 25th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 51.8% for the season. That is 6th overall in the NHL. They have 769 face-off wins compared to 613 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 55.6%. That ranks them 1st in the league. On defense Philadelphia has 560 hits and they have blocked 351 shots from the opposition, putting them 17th 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 762 face-off wins compared to 759 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.1%. That is 15th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 709 hits and they have blocked 337 shots from the opposition, which is 23rd in the league. Pittsburgh is 11th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.6% as they've attempted 1,419 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,385 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 50.8% ranks 13th as they have 1,081 attempts while they have given up 1,048 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Pittsburgh -195

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