Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Pittsburgh Penguins - 12/12/19 NHL Picks, Odds, and Prediction

Game: Columbus Blue Jackets vs Pittsburgh Penguins

Date: Thursday, December 12, 2019

Location: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: ATTP

Odds/Point Spread: Blue Jackets (+160) Penguins (-178)

Total/Over-Under: 6

Joonas Korpisalo and the Columbus Blue Jackets (12-14-4, 7th in the Metropolitan Division) head to PPG Paints Arena on Thursday where they'll meet the Pittsburgh Penguins (17-10-4, 5th in the Metropolitan Division). The Blue Jackets open this matchup at +160 while the Penguins are coming in at -178. The over/under has been set at 6. The Blue Jackets are covering 40.0% of the time, having gone 12-18 SU. Pittsburgh is covering 53.3% of the time, going 16-14 straight up.

The Columbus Blue Jackets head into this game holding a record of 12 victories and 14 losses, which puts them at 7th in the Metropolitan Division. During the season thus far, they have converted a total of 76 goals which has them ranked at 14th in the Eastern Conference and 29th in the league. Their goal differential is -16, which puts them at 27th in the league. The Blue Jackets currently have a total of 28 points, which has them ranked at 27th in the league and 13th in the East. In connection with shots at the opposing goalie, they currently have a total of 1,015 which has them ranked at 6th in the Eastern Conference and 9th in the league. As a unit, Columbus currently has a total of 452 hits which has them averaging 15.1 per contest. They currently have a total of 347 blocks for the season. Protecting the goal for Columbus is Joonas Korpisalo from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is 25 years old and has totaled 1,344 mins protecting the net for the season. Korpisalo is allowing an average of 2.81 GAA which places him at 11th in the Eastern Conference and 24th in the NHL among goaltenders. During this season, he's allowed 63 goals. He holds a save % of .903 which places him at 16th in the Eastern Conference.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets came out of this game feeling pretty good about themselves with a 5 - 2 win over the Washington Capitals in their last contest. The Blue Jackets had a great offensive game plan going into this one and it showed in this win. In their game, they converted 5 out of the 38 shots they attempted. In addition, they had 5 power play opportunities but weren't able to score. Columbus had a total of 6 penalty minutes in their game. The Corsi for the Blue Jackets was 41 and the Corsi against was 51 which means they earned a Corsi percentage of 44.6%. Their Fenwick sat at 30 while the Fenwick against was 36, giving them a rate of 45.5%. They took 19 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 27 tries to control the puck. Their offensive zone starts came in at 51.9% and they had a PDO of 113.7 in this game. Concerning opponent stats, the Washington Capitals tallied a total of 39 shots. They had a total of 10 minutes in the box and they notched 3 power play opportunities.

The Penguins are the team on the other side of the ice and for the current year they have 17 wins and 10 defeats. In terms of goal differential, they sit 3rd in the Eastern Conference and 4th in the league with +18. They have earned a total of 103 goals for the year which has them at 6th in the Eastern Conference. Pittsburgh has a save % as a team of .906 which has them ranked 16th in the league, which tells us scoring chances could be there if they are opportunistic. They have a team shooting percentage of 9.8% ranking them 8th in the Eastern Conference. In net for Pittsburgh is Matt Murray who is having a marginal campaign by allowing 2.85 goals per game and that has him ranked 15th among Eastern Conference goaltenders and 29th in the NHL among goalies. In the 1,222 minutes he's played this year, he has given up 58 goals. He's earned a save % of .897, which puts him at 23rd among Eastern Conference goaltenders and 43rd in the NHL among goalies.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins faced off against the Montreal Canadiens in a game where the Penguins went home in defeat by a score of 4 - 1. For this matchup, Pittsburgh went home with a 58.1% Corsi rating. They ended up with that by earning a Corsi of 43 and their opponent having a Corsi of 31. They earned a Fenwick percentage of 58.6% with a Fenwick of 34 and the Canadiens having earned a 24 Fenwick at even strength. This Corsi rating is telling of the kind of game that Pittsburgh played and we're sure they will look for better performances in the future. They had a PDO at even strength of 89.6 and they finished the game with an oZS percentage of 58.3%. The Penguins converted 1 goal out of the 34 shots on goal they attempted. They had 1 power play chance in this outing but weren't able to finish one of them with a goal. On the other side of the ice, the Canadiens had 1 power play opportunity and came through by scoring 1 goal. Pittsburgh conceded 26 shots on goal and the Canadiens racked up a total of 2 minutes in the box.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (-178)

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