Pittsburgh Penguins at Chicago Blackhawks NHL Picks & Predictions 12/12/2018

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

United Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins head to United Center to take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday, December 12, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Penguins at -200 and the Blackhawks at +150.

Pittsburgh has a record of 13-10-6 this year. They are 4th in the Metropolitan Division. They've tallied 98 goals and surrendered 92 goals for a point differential of +6. For the year they have an ATS mark of 13-16-0 and an over/under record of 12-13-0. Chicago has a record of 9-17-5 this season. They are 7th in the Central Division. They have scored 84 goals and given up 115 for a goal differential of -31. Their record against the spread is 9-22-0 while their over/under mark is 16-13-0.

Valuable Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 13-16-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 12-13-0 against the over/under this season

Important Chicago Blackhawks Betting Trends

The Chicago Blackhawks are 9-22-0 straight up this year

The Chicago Blackhawks are 16-13-0 against the over/under this season

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

12/10/18 RW Patric Hornqvist Upper Body is questionable Wednesday vs Chicago
12/07/18 LW Dominik Simon Lower Body is out indefinitely
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

Key Chicago Blackhawks Injuries

12/10/18 C Artem Anisimov Concussion is downgraded to out Tuesday vs Winnipeg
12/08/18 D Gustav Forsling Shoulder IR (12/08)
11/16/18 D Brandon Davidson Leg is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Phil Kessel has scored 33 total points this year for the Penguins. He has 12 goals this season with 83 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 21 assists on the year and averages 18.7 minutes played per contest. Evgeni Malkin averages 19.1 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by tallying 10 goals on 65 attempts. He has 23 assists, giving him a total of 33 points on the year. Casey DeSmith has 9 wins and 4 losses this season in goal for the Penguins. He has 546 shots against him and he's surrendered 41 goals. He's made 505 stops for a save percentage of 93%.

Player Spotlight

Jonathan Toews has 24 total points this season for the Blackhawks. He has 13 goals this year with 84 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 11 assists on the year and averages 20.4 minutes played per contest. Patrick Kane averages 22.1 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by scoring 15 goals on 119 attempts. He has 19 assists, giving him a total of 34 points on the year. Corey Crawford has 5 wins and 14 losses this season in net for the Blackhawks. He has 629 shots against him and he's given up 62 goals. He's made 567 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins have 32 total points this year, which is 18th in the NHL. They've scored 98 goals while giving up 92 scores, which has them ranked 10th and 15th respectively. They have had 82 power play chances and scored 19 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 23%. That is 10th in the league. The Penguins have given up 86 power play opportunities and surrendered 14 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 84%, ranking them 6th when short-handed. They average 32 shots per contest and as a team shoot 10.45% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 15th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blackhawks are 30th in the league with a total of 23 points this season. They have 11 power play goals on 95 chances for a percentage of 12%. That is 31st in the NHL. They've given up 90 power play opportunities and surrendered 23 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 74%, ranking 28th overall. As a team, the Blackhawks are 22nd with a total of 84 goals scored while they've given up 115 goals this season, ranking 2nd in goals against. They average 32 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.46%. As a unit they give up 33 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 89%, putting them 28th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Pittsburgh is 10th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.1%, as they've attempted 1,725 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,654 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 51.1% as they have 1,294 attempts while they have given up 1,240 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 12th in the league. The Penguins start possessions in the offensive zone 48.7% of the time, which is 22nd in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 51.3% for the season. That is 9th overall in the NHL. They have 901 face-off wins compared to 887 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.4%. That ranks them 15th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 872 hits and they have blocked 414 shots from the opposition, putting them 20th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Blackhawks are 8th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 53% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 47% for the season, which is 24th in the NHL. They have 907 face-off wins compared to 893 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.4%. That is 16th in the league. On defense Chicago has 479 hits and they have blocked 387 shots from the opposition, which is 27th in the league. Chicago is 12th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.8% as they've attempted 1,864 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,803 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 49.2% ranks 19th as they have 1,369 attempts while they have given up 1,416 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Pittsburgh -200

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