Pittsburgh Penguins at Los Angeles Kings NHL Picks & Predictions 1/18/2018

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Staples Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins head to Staples Center to take on the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, January 18, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Penguins at +109 and the Kings at -120.

Pittsburgh has a record of 24-19-3 this year and away from home they have a record of 9-12-2-1. They are 5th in the Metropolitan Division. They have tallied 135 goals and surrendered 141 goals for a point differential of -6. For the year they have an ATS mark of 24-22-0 and an over/under record of 23-21-0. Los Angeles has a record of 24-15-5 including 11-8-3-0 on home ice this year. They are 4th in the Pacific Division. They've scored 129 goals and have given up 107 for a goal differential of +22. Their record against the spread is 24-20-0 while their over/under mark is 19-22-0.

Valuable Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 24-22-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 23-21-0 against the over/under this season

Important Los Angeles Kings Betting Trends

The Los Angeles Kings are 24-20-0 straight up this year

The Los Angeles Kings are 19-22-0 against the over/under this season

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

12/29/17 RW Bryan Rust Upper Body IR (12/27)
01/16/18 GO Matt Murray Personal is "?" Wednesday vs Anaheim
01/14/18 D Chad Ruhwedel Upper Body is "?" Wednesday vs Anaheim
01/04/18 RW Carter Rowney Upper Body IR (01/02)

Key Los Angeles Kings Injuries

10/19/17 C Jeff Carter Ankle IR (10/18)
01/15/18 D Jake Muzzin Upper Body is "?" Thursday vs Pittsburgh

Player Spotlight

Sidney Crosby has scored 47 total points this year for the Penguins. He has 17 goals this season with 132 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He has a total of 30 assists on the year and averages 20.7 minutes played per contest. Phil Kessel averages 18.8 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by tallying 20 goals on 168 attempts. He has 32 assists, giving him a total of 52 points on the year. Matthew Murray has 15 wins and 12 losses this season in goal for the Penguins. He has 847 shots against him and he's surrendered 82 goals. He's made 765 stops for a save percentage of 90%.

Player Spotlight

Dustin Brown has 32 total points this season for the Kings. He has 15 goals this year with 108 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 17 assists on the year and averages 19.7 minutes played per contest. Anze Kopitar averages 21.9 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 18% by scoring 18 goals on 103 attempts. He has 27 assists, giving him a total of 45 points on the year. Jonathan Quick has 19 wins and 14 losses this season in net for the Kings. He has 1,058 shots against him and he's given up 80 goals. He's made 978 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins have 51 total points this year, which is 18th in the NHL. They've scored 135 goals while giving up 141 scores, which has them ranked 14th and 8th respectively. They have had 162 power play chances and scored 43 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 27%. That is 1st in the league. The Penguins have given up 161 power play opportunities and surrendered 28 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, ranking them 10th when short-handed. They average 35 shots per contest and as a team shoot 8.45% for the year. They allow 30 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 24th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Kings are 14th in the league with a total of 53 points this season. They have 22 power play goals on 128 chances for a percentage of 17%. That is 22nd in the NHL. They've given up 147 power play opportunities and surrendered 19 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 87%, ranking 1st overall. As a team, the Kings are 18th with a total of 129 goals scored while they've given up 107 goals this season, ranking 31st in goals against. They average 31 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 9.51%. As a unit they give up 31 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 92%, putting them 1st overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Pittsburgh is 7th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 52.3%, as they've attempted 2,814 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,568 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 53.3% as they have 2,160 attempts while they have given up 1,896 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 3rd in the league. The Penguins start possessions in the offensive zone 53% of the time, which is 8th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 47% for the season. That is 25th overall in the NHL. They have 1,474 face-off wins compared to 1,415 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51%. That ranks them 12th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 1,116 hits and they have blocked 672 shots from the opposition, putting them 14th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Kings are 14th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 50.6% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 49.4% for the season, which is 16th in the NHL. They have 1,319 face-off wins compared to 1,328 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.8%. That is 17th in the league. On defense Los Angeles has 1,119 hits and they have blocked 618 shots from the opposition, which is 22nd in the league. Los Angeles is 15th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.5% as they've attempted 2,536 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,585 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 49.1% ranks 18th as they have 1,900 attempts while they have given up 1,967 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Pittsburgh +109

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