Pittsburgh Penguins at Ottawa Senators NHL Picks & Predictions 12/8/2018

Saturday, December 8, 2018

Canadian Tire Centre

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins head to Canadian Tire Centre to take on the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, December 8, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Penguins at -220 and the Senators at +163.

Pittsburgh has a record of 12-10-5 this year. They are 4th in the Metropolitan Division. They've tallied 95 goals and surrendered 89 goals for a point differential of +6. For the year they have an ATS mark of 11-15-0 and an over/under record of 11-11-0. Ottawa has a record of 12-14-3 this season. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They have scored 102 goals and given up 119 for a goal differential of -17. Their record against the spread is 12-16-0 while their over/under mark is 20-6-0.

Valuable Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 11-15-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 11-11-0 against the over/under this season

Important Ottawa Senators Betting Trends

The Ottawa Senators are 12-16-0 straight up this year

The Ottawa Senators are 20-6-0 against the over/under this season

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

12/06/18 LW Dominik Simon Lower Body 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

Key Ottawa Senators Injuries

12/07/18 C Matt Duchene Lower Body injured last game, is doubtful
12/06/18 D Maxime Lajoie Undisclosed is questionable
11/27/18 D Mark Borowiecki Undisclosed IR (11/27)
10/12/18 LW Alex Formenton Concussion IR (10/12)
10/12/18 LW Ryan Dzingel Lower Body is out indefinitely
10/04/18 RW Marian Gaborik Back is out indefinitely
10/01/18 C Jean-Gabriel Pageau Achilles is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Evgeni Malkin has scored 33 total points this year for the Penguins. He has 10 goals this season with 61 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 23 assists on the year and averages 19 minutes played per contest. Phil Kessel averages 18.4 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by tallying 12 goals on 74 attempts. He has 21 assists, giving him a total of 33 points on the year. Casey DeSmith has 8 wins and 4 losses this season in goal for the Penguins. He has 488 shots against him and he's surrendered 38 goals. He's made 450 stops for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Mark Stone has 32 total points this season for the Senators. He has 14 goals this year with 70 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 20%. He has a total of 18 assists on the year and averages 19.8 minutes played per contest. Thomas Chabot averages 24.1 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 9% by scoring 7 goals on 78 attempts. He has 24 assists, giving him a total of 31 points on the year. Craig Anderson has 11 wins and 11 losses this season in net for the Senators. He has 936 shots against him and he's given up 90 goals. He's made 846 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins have 29 total points this year, which is 19th in the NHL. They've scored 95 goals while giving up 89 scores, which has them ranked 8th and 13th respectively. They have had 76 power play chances and scored 19 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 25%. That is 8th in the league. The Penguins have given up 77 power play opportunities and surrendered 13 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, ranking them 6th when short-handed. They average 33 shots per contest and as a team shoot 10.82% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 17th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Senators are 25th in the league with a total of 27 points this season. They have 21 power play goals on 90 chances for a percentage of 23%. That is 10th in the NHL. They've given up 85 power play opportunities and surrendered 24 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 72%, ranking 31st overall. As a team, the Senators are 4th with a total of 102 goals scored while they've given up 119 goals this season, ranking 1st in goals against. They average 30 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 11.87%. As a unit they give up 38 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 89%, putting them 25th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Pittsburgh is 14th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.3%, as they've attempted 1,577 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,557 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 50.4% as they have 1,191 attempts while they have given up 1,174 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 16th in the league. The Penguins start possessions in the offensive zone 48.3% of the time, which is 26th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 51.7% for the season. That is 6th overall in the NHL. They have 846 face-off wins compared to 841 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.1%. That ranks them 15th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 820 hits and they have blocked 383 shots from the opposition, putting them 23rd overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Senators are 30th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 46.5% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 53.5% for the season, which is 2nd in the NHL. They have 927 face-off wins compared to 911 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.4%. That is 12th in the league. On defense Ottawa has 570 hits and they have blocked 520 shots from the opposition, which is 1st in the league. Ottawa is 31st in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 43.4% as they've attempted 1,540 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,012 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 43.7% ranks 30th as they have 1,160 attempts while they have given up 1,492 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Ottawa +163

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