Vancouver Canucks at Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Picks & Predictions 10/16/2018

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

PPG Paints Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Vancouver Canucks head to PPG Paints Arena to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, October 16, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Canucks at +218 and the Penguins at -245.

Vancouver has a record of 3-2-0 this year. They are 3rd in the Pacific Division. They've tallied 19 goals and surrendered 17 goals for a point differential of +2. For the year they have an ATS mark of 3-2-0 and an over/under record of 3-2-0. Pittsburgh has a record of 2-1-1 this season. They are 4th in the Metropolitan Division. They have scored 15 goals and given up 17 for a goal differential of -2. Their record against the spread is 2-2-0 while their over/under mark is 2-1-0.

Valuable Vancouver Canucks Betting Trends

The Vancouver Canucks are 3-2-0 straight up this year

The Vancouver Canucks are 3-2-0 against the over/under this season

Important Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 2-2-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 2-1-0 against the over/under this season

Key Vancouver Canucks Injuries

10/15/18 C Elias Pettersson Head left last game, is questionable Tuesday vs Pittsburgh
10/15/18 C Jay Beagle Hand injured last game, is questionable Tuesday vs Pittsburgh
10/14/18 RW Derek Dorsett Neck is out for season
10/02/18 LW Antoine Roussel None IR (10/02)

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

10/15/18 D Justin Schultz Lower Body injured last game, is questionable Tuesday vs Vancouver
10/11/18 GO Matt Murray Concussion is out indefinitely
10/04/18 GO Tristan Jarry Lower Body is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Bo Horvat has scored 4 total points this year for the Canucks. He has 3 goals this season with 12 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 25%. He has a total of 1 assist on the year and averages 17.6 minutes played per contest. Elias Pettersson averages 15.2 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 39% by tallying 5 goals on 13 attempts. He has 3 assists, giving him a total of 8 points on the year. Jacob Markstrom has 1 win and 2 losses this season in goal for the Canucks. He has 103 shots against him and he's surrendered 12 goals. He's made 91 stops for a save percentage of 88%.

Player Spotlight

Sidney Crosby has 4 total points this season for the Penguins. He has a total of 4 assists on the year and averages 19.8 minutes played per contest. Kris Letang averages 26.5 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 25% by scoring 3 goals on 12 attempts. He has 3 assists, giving him a total of 6 points on the year. Matt Murray has 1 win and 1 loss this season in net for the Penguins. He has 65 shots against him and he's given up 11 goals. He's made 54 saves for a save percentage of 83%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canucks have 6 total points this year, which is 14th in the NHL. They've scored 19 goals while giving up 17 scores, which has them ranked 8th and 14th respectively. They have had 19 power play chances and scored 5 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 26%. That is 11th in the league. The Canucks have given up 25 power play opportunities and surrendered 3 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 88%, ranking them 7th when short-handed. They average 25 shots per contest and as a team shoot 15.08% for the year. They allow 33 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 16th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins are 18th in the league with a total of 5 points this season. They have 3 power play goals on 12 chances for a percentage of 25%. That is 12th in the NHL. They've given up 13 power play opportunities and surrendered 1 goal on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 92%, ranking 3rd overall. As a team, the Penguins are 15th with a total of 15 goals scored while they've given up 17 goals this season, ranking 13th in goals against. They average 28 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 13.27%. As a unit they give up 36 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 89%, putting them 20th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Vancouver is 30th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 39.2%, as they've attempted 222 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 344 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 41.7% as they have 173 attempts while they have given up 242 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 30th in the league. The Canucks start possessions in the offensive zone 43.1% of the time, which is 28th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 56.9% for the season. That is 4th overall in the NHL. They have 156 face-off wins compared to 155 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.2%. That ranks them 15th in the league. On defense Vancouver has 88 hits and they have blocked 102 shots from the opposition, putting them 3rd overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Penguins are 31st in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 38.3% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 61.7% for the season, which is 1st in the NHL. They have 143 face-off wins compared to 125 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 53.4%. That is 5th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 110 hits and they have blocked 71 shots from the opposition, which is 11th in the league. Pittsburgh is 23rd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 46.6% as they've attempted 220 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 252 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 46.9% ranks 21st as they have 160 attempts while they have given up 181 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Pittsburgh -245

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