Pittsburgh Penguins at San Jose Sharks NHL Picks & Predictions 1/20/2018

Saturday, January 20, 2018

SAP Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins head to SAP Center to take on the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, January 20, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Penguins at +109 and the Sharks at -120.

Pittsburgh has a record of 25-20-3 this year and away from home they have a record of 10-13-2-1. They are 5th in the Metropolitan Division. They have tallied 141 goals and surrendered 147 goals for a point differential of -6. For the year they have an ATS mark of 25-23-0 and an over/under record of 24-22-0. San Jose has a record of 24-14-6 including 13-6-2-1 on home ice this year. They are 2nd in the Pacific Division. They've scored 126 goals and have given up 119 for a goal differential of +7. Their record against the spread is 24-20-0 while their over/under mark is 15-28-0.

Valuable Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 25-23-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 24-22-0 against the over/under this season

Important San Jose Sharks Betting Trends

The San Jose Sharks are 24-20-0 straight up this year

The San Jose Sharks are 15-28-0 against the over/under this season

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

12/29/17 RW Bryan Rust Upper Body IR (12/27)
01/17/18 D Chad Ruhwedel Upper Body IR (12/27)
01/17/18 GO Matt Murray Personal is out indefinitely
01/04/18 RW Carter Rowney Upper Body IR (01/02)

Key San Jose Sharks Injuries

No key injuries to report

Player Spotlight

Sidney Crosby has scored 50 total points this year for the Penguins. He has 17 goals this season with 135 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He has a total of 33 assists on the year and averages 20.8 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 21 goals on 173 attempts. He has 33 assists, giving him a total of 54 points on the year. Tristan Jarry has 9 wins and 4 losses this season in goal for the Penguins. He has 472 shots against him and he's surrendered 38 goals. He's made 434 stops for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Joe Thornton has 33 total points this season for the Sharks. He has 12 goals this year with 72 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 17%. He has a total of 21 assists on the year and averages 18.4 minutes played per contest. Joe Thornton averages 18.4 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 17% by scoring 12 goals on 72 attempts. He has 21 assists, giving him a total of 33 points on the year. Martin Jones has 14 wins and 11 losses this season in net for the Sharks. He has 852 shots against him and he's given up 77 goals. He's made 775 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins have 53 total points this year, which is 18th in the NHL. They've scored 141 goals while giving up 147 scores, which has them ranked 12th and 6th respectively. They have had 171 power play chances and scored 46 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 27%. That is 1st in the league. The Penguins have given up 165 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 8.49% 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 Sharks are 13th in the league with a total of 54 points this season. They have 34 power play goals on 155 chances for a percentage of 22%. That is 5th in the NHL. They've given up 139 power play opportunities and surrendered 22 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 84%, ranking 4th overall. As a team, the Sharks are 24th with a total of 126 goals scored while they've given up 119 goals this season, ranking 26th in goals against. They average 33 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.71%. As a unit they give up 30 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 15th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Pittsburgh has a Corsi percentage of 52.2% as they've tried 2,928 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,681 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 8th in Corsi percentage. They are 3rd in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 53.1% as they have 2,247 shots while they've given up 1,986 attempts on defense. The Penguins start possessions in the offensive zone 52.7% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.3% for the year. That puts them 7th and 25th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,526 face-off wins as opposed to 1,478 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.8%. That is 12th overall in the NHL. On defense Pittsburgh has 1,161 hits and they've blocked 695 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 13th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Sharks start possessions in the offensive zone 54.3% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 45.7% for the year. That ranks them 5th and 28th respectively in the NHL. They have 1,343 face-off wins as opposed to 1,298 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.9%. That is 13th in the league. On defense San Jose has 777 hits and they've blocked 698 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 11th in blocked shots. San Jose is ranked 9th in Corsi percentage with 52.3% as they've tried 2,760 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,522 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 4th in the NHL at 52.7%, as they have 2,035 shots while they've given up 1,824 attempts on defense.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Pittsburgh +109

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