Pittsburgh Penguins at Philadelphia Flyers NHL Picks & Predictions 3/7/2018

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Wells Fargo Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins head to Wells Fargo Center to take on the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday, March 7, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Penguins at -111 and the Flyers at +101.

Pittsburgh has a record of 38-25-4 this year and away from home they have a record of 13-17-3-2. They are 2nd in the Metropolitan Division. They have tallied 219 goals and surrendered 203 goals for a point differential of +16. For the year they have an ATS mark of 38-29-0 and an over/under record of 36-29-0. Philadelphia has a record of 34-21-11 including 16-10-6-3 on home ice this year. They are 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 197 goals and have given up 193 for a goal differential of +4. Their record against the spread is 34-32-0 while their over/under mark is 34-30-0.

Valuable Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 38-29-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 36-29-0 against the over/under this season

Important Philadelphia Flyers Betting Trends

The Philadelphia Flyers are 34-32-0 straight up this year

The Philadelphia Flyers are 34-30-0 against the over/under this season

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

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

Key Philadelphia Flyers Injuries

03/04/18 D Johnny Oduya Undisclosed injured last game, is "?" Wednesday vs Pittsburgh
03/04/18 D Andrew MacDonald Upper Body is "?" Wednesday vs Pittsburgh
02/20/18 GO Michal Neuvirth Lower Body IR (02/18)
02/20/18 RW Wayne Simmonds Upper Body IR (02/19)
02/13/18 GO Brian Elliott Abdominal IR (02/10)

Player Spotlight

Phil Kessel has scored 76 total points this year for the Penguins. He has 27 goals this season with 225 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 49 assists on the year and averages 18.8 minutes played per contest. Sidney Crosby averages 20.8 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 11% by tallying 22 goals on 194 attempts. He has 48 assists, giving him a total of 70 points on the year. Casey DeSmith has 3 wins and 4 losses this season in goal for the Penguins. He has 231 shots against him and he's surrendered 20 goals. He's made 211 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Claude Giroux has 78 total points this season for the Flyers. He has 23 goals this year with 149 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 55 assists on the year and averages 20.4 minutes played per contest. Jakub Voracek averages 19.6 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 8% by scoring 14 goals on 185 attempts. He has 57 assists, giving him a total of 71 points on the year. Petr Mrazek has 11 wins and 9 losses this season in net for the Flyers. He has 802 shots against him and he's given up 75 goals. He's made 727 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins have 80 total points this year, which is 10th in the NHL. They've scored 219 goals while giving up 203 scores, which has them ranked 5th and 8th respectively. They have had 212 power play chances and scored 56 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 26%. That is 1st in the league. The Penguins have given up 219 power play opportunities and surrendered 40 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, ranking them 12th when short-handed. They average 34 shots per contest and as a team shoot 9.52% for the year. They allow 31 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 Flyers are 11th in the league with a total of 79 points this season. They have 45 power play goals on 218 chances for a percentage of 21%. That is 13th in the NHL. They've given up 185 power play opportunities and surrendered 46 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 75%, ranking 29th overall. As a team, the Flyers are 12th with a total of 197 goals scored while they've given up 193 goals this season, ranking 18th in goals against. They average 32 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 9.40%. As a unit they give up 30 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 23rd overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Pittsburgh has a Corsi percentage of 51.4% as they've tried 4,056 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 3,841 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 10th in Corsi percentage. They are 8th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 52% as they have 3,092 shots while they've given up 2,855 attempts on defense. The Penguins start possessions in the offensive zone 52% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 48% for the year. That puts them 10th and 23rd in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 2,098 face-off wins as opposed to 2,079 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.2%. That is 16th overall in the NHL. On defense Pittsburgh has 1,616 hits and they've blocked 986 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 13th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Flyers start possessions in the offensive zone 50.5% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.5% for the year. That ranks them 16th and 15th respectively in the NHL. They have 2,105 face-off wins as opposed to 1,828 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 53.5%. That is 2nd in the league. On defense Philadelphia has 1,372 hits and they've blocked 966 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 16th in blocked shots. Philadelphia is ranked 17th in Corsi percentage with 50.4% as they've tried 3,796 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 3,729 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 14th in the NHL at 50.8%, as they have 2,858 shots while they've given up 2,763 attempts on defense.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Pittsburgh -111

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Read more articles by Guy Bruhn