Carolina Hurricanes at Pittsburgh Penguins Expert NHL Picks 3/31/2019

Sunday, March 31, 2019

PPG Paints Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Carolina Hurricanes head to PPG Paints Arena to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, March 31, 2019. The opening line for this contest has the Hurricanes at +125 and the Penguins at -155.

Carolina has a record of 42-28-7 this year. They are 4th in the Metropolitan Division. They've tallied 226 goals and surrendered 211 goals for a point differential of +15. For the year they have an ATS mark of 42-35-0 and an over/under record of 32-43-0. Pittsburgh has a record of 42-24-11 this season. They are 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. They have scored 259 goals and given up 225 for a goal differential of +34. Their record against the spread is 42-36-0 while their over/under mark is 34-38-0.

Valuable Carolina Hurricanes Betting Trends

The Carolina Hurricanes are 42-35-0 straight up this year

The Carolina Hurricanes are 32-43-0 against the over/under this season

Important Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 42-36-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 34-38-0 against the over/under this season

Key Carolina Hurricanes Injuries

No key injuries to report

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

03/25/19 D Kris Letang Upper Body is questionable Sunday vs Carolina
03/17/19 C Evgeni Malkin Upper Body is out indefinitely
03/15/19 C Zach Aston-Reese Lower Body is out indefinitely
02/27/19 D Chad Ruhwedel Upper Body is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Teuvo Teravainen has scored 70 total points this year for the Hurricanes. He has 19 goals this season with 158 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 51 assists on the year and averages 17.9 minutes played per contest. Sebastian Aho averages 20.1 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by tallying 30 goals on 232 attempts. He has 51 assists, giving him a total of 81 points on the year. Petr Mrazek has 20 wins and 14 losses this season in goal for the Hurricanes. He has 1,011 shots against him and he's surrendered 91 goals. He's made 920 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Phil Kessel has 78 total points this season for the Penguins. He has 24 goals this year with 200 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 54 assists on the year and averages 18 minutes played per contest. Sidney Crosby averages 21 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by scoring 33 goals on 209 attempts. He has 61 assists, giving him a total of 94 points on the year. Matt Murray has 27 wins and 13 losses this season in net for the Penguins. He has 1,467 shots against him and he's given up 120 goals. He's made 1,347 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Hurricanes have 91 total points this year, which is 11th in the NHL. They've scored 226 goals while giving up 211 scores, which has them ranked 17th and 22nd respectively. They have had 238 power play chances and scored 39 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 16%. That is 25th in the league. The Hurricanes have given up 227 power play opportunities and surrendered 41 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, ranking them 6th when short-handed. They average 35 shots per contest and as a team shoot 8.49% for the year. They allow 28 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 Penguins are 7th in the league with a total of 95 points this season. They have 54 power play goals on 213 chances for a percentage of 25%. That is 5th in the NHL. They've given up 215 power play opportunities and surrendered 41 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, ranking 13th overall. As a team, the Penguins are 6th with a total of 259 goals scored while they've given up 225 goals this season, ranking 19th in goals against. They average 33 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 10.22%. As a unit they give up 33 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 5th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Carolina is 1st in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 55.1%, as they've attempted 4,996 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,077 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 55% as they have 3,797 attempts while they have given up 3,107 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 1st in the league. The Hurricanes start possessions in the offensive zone 54.7% of the time, which is 2nd in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 45.3% for the season. That is 30th overall in the NHL. They have 2,284 face-off wins compared to 2,380 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49%. That ranks them 24th in the league. On defense Carolina has 1,936 hits and they have blocked 970 shots from the opposition, putting them 30th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Penguins are 20th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 49.3% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 50.7% for the season, which is 12th in the NHL. They have 2,343 face-off wins compared to 2,315 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.3%. That is 13th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 2,250 hits and they have blocked 1,176 shots from the opposition, which is 8th in the league. Pittsburgh is 19th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.2% as they've attempted 4,529 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,669 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 49.6% ranks 18th as they have 3,443 attempts while they have given up 3,493 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Carolina +125

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