Washington Capitals at Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Picks & Predictions 5/3/2018

Thursday, May 3, 2018

PPG Paints Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Washington Capitals head to PPG Paints Arena to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, May 3, 2018 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Washington leads the series 2-1. The opening line for this contest has the Capitals at +138 and the Penguins at -180.

Washington had a record of 49-26-7 this year and away from home they had a record of 21-15-5-1. They were 1st in the Metropolitan Division. They tallied 259 goals and surrendered 239 goals for a point differential of +20. For the year they have an ATS mark of 55-36-0 and an over/under record of 51-38-0. Pittsburgh had a regular season record of 47-29-6 including 30-9-2-0 on home ice this year. They were 2nd in the Metropolitan Division. They scored 272 goals and gave up 250 for a goal differential of +22. Their record against the spread is 52-39-0 while their over/under mark is 50-36-0.

Valuable Washington Capitals Betting Trends

The Washington Capitals are 55-36-0 straight up this year

The Washington Capitals are 51-38-0 against the over/under this season

Important Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 52-39-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 50-36-0 against the over/under this season

Key Washington Capitals Injuries

05/02/18 RW Tom Wilson Possible Suspension is "?" Thursday vs Pittsburgh
04/23/18 LW Andre Burakovsky Upper Body is out indefinitely

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

05/02/18 C Zach Aston-Reese Jaw injured last game, is OUT Thursday vs Washington
05/01/18 LW Carl Hagelin Facial is "?" Thursday vs Washington
03/17/18 RW Carter Rowney Upper Body is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Alex Ovechkin has scored 87 total points this year for the Capitals. He has 49 goals this season with 355 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 38 assists on the year and averages 20.1 minutes played per contest. Evgeny Kuznetsov averages 18.8 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by tallying 27 goals on 187 attempts. He has 56 assists, giving him a total of 83 points on the year. Braden Holtby has 34 wins and 16 losses this season in goal for the Capitals. He has 1,648 shots against him and he's surrendered 153 goals. He's made 1,495 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Phil Kessel has 92 total points this season for the Penguins. He has 34 goals this year with 261 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He has a total of 58 assists on the year and averages 18.7 minutes played per contest. Sidney Crosby averages 20.7 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 29 goals on 247 attempts. He has 60 assists, giving him a total of 89 points on the year. Matt Murray has 27 wins and 16 losses this season in net for the Penguins. He has 1,423 shots against him and he's given up 133 goals. He's made 1,290 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Capitals have 105 total points this year, which is 7th in the NHL. They've scored 259 goals while giving up 239 scores, which has them ranked 9th and 17th respectively. They have had 244 power play chances and scored 55 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 23%. That is 7th in the league. The Capitals have given up 269 power play opportunities and surrendered 53 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking them 15th when short-handed. They average 29 shots per contest and as a team shoot 10.89% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 17th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins are 10th in the league with a total of 100 points this season. They have 68 power play goals on 260 chances for a percentage of 26%. That is 1st in the NHL. They've given up 265 power play opportunities and surrendered 53 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking 17th overall. As a team, the Penguins are 4th with a total of 272 goals scored while they've given up 250 goals this season, ranking 12th in goals against. They average 34 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 9.64%. As a unit they give up 31 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 25th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Washington has a Corsi percentage of 47.4% as they've tried 4,479 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 4,980 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 31st in Corsi percentage. They are 31st in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 47.3% as they have 3,381 shots while they've given up 3,760 attempts on defense. The Capitals start possessions in the offensive zone 49.7% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.3% for the year. That puts them 20th and 15th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 2,467 face-off wins as opposed to 2,427 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.4%. That is 18th overall in the NHL. On defense Washington has 1,784 hits and they've blocked 1,220 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 14th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Penguins start possessions in the offensive zone 53.3% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 46.7% for the year. That ranks them 8th and 26th respectively in the NHL. They have 2,571 face-off wins as opposed to 2,546 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.2%. That is 16th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 1,951 hits and they've blocked 1,184 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 20th in blocked shots. Pittsburgh is ranked 5th in Corsi percentage with 51.7% as they've tried 4,944 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 4,628 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 6th in the NHL at 52.4%, as they have 3,793 shots while they've given up 3,444 attempts on defense.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Pittsburgh -180

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