Columbus Blue Jackets vs Pittsburgh Penguins Hockey Betting Tips 10/5/2019

Saturday, October 5, 2019

PPG Paints Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Columbus Blue Jackets head to PPG Paints Arena to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, October 5, 2019. The opening line for this contest has the Blue Jackets at +110 and the Penguins at -121.

Columbus had a record of 47-31-4 last year and away from home they had a record of 25-14-2-0. They were 5th in the Metropolitan Division. They tallied 256 goals and surrendered 231 goals for a point differential of +25. For the year they had an ATS mark of 44-35 and an over/under record of 31-45-6. Pittsburgh finished with a record of 44-26-12 including 15-8-5-2 on home ice last year. They were 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. They scored 271 goals and gave up 238 for a goal differential of +33. Their record against the spread was 42-37 while their over/under mark was 35-41-6.

Valuable Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Trends

The Columbus Blue Jackets were 44-35 straight up last year

The Columbus Blue Jackets were 31-45-6 against the over/under last season

Important Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins were 42-37 straight up last year

The Pittsburgh Penguins were 35-41-6 against the over/under last season

Key Columbus Blue Jackets Injuries

09/30/19 C Brandon Dubinsky None is out indefinitely

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

10/03/19 C Sidney Crosby Lower Body is upgraded to probable Thursday vs Buffalo
10/02/19 RW Bryan Rust Hand IR (10/02)
09/30/19 C Alex Galchenyuk Lower Body is questionable Thursday vs Buffalo

Player Spotlight

Cam Atkinson scored 69 total points last year for the Blue Jackets. He had 41 goals last season with 295 shots on net giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He had a total of 28 assists on the year and averaged 19.4 minutes played per contest. Zach Werenski averaged 22.9 minutes of ice time per game last season. In that time he had a shooting percentage of 7% by tallying 11 goals on 168 attempts. He had 33 assists giving him a total of 44 points on the year. Joonas Korpisalo had 10 wins and 7 losses last season in goal for the Blue Jackets. He had 651 shots against him and he surrendered 67 goals. He made 584 stops for a save percentage of 90%.

Player Spotlight

Jake Guentzel had 76 total points last season for the Penguins. He had 40 goals last year with 227 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 18%. He had a total of 36 assists on the year and averaged 19.4 minutes played per contest. Sidney Crosby averaged 21 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he had a shooting percentage of 16% by scoring 35 goals on 220 attempts. He had 65 assists giving him a total of 100 points on the year. Matt Murray had 29 wins and 14 losses last season in net for the Penguins. He had 1,594 shots against him and he gave up 129 goals. He made 1,465 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blue Jackets had 98 total points last year, which was 13th in the NHL. They scored 256 goals while giving up 231 scores, which had them ranked 12th and 21st respectively. They had 221 power play chances and scored 34 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 15%. That was 28th in the league. The Blue Jackets gave up 200 power play opportunities and surrendered 30 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 85%, ranking them 2nd when short-handed. They averaged 32 shots per contest and as a team shot 9.88% for the year. They allowed 29 shot attempts to their opposition per game and had a team save percentage of 90%, which was 18th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins were 8th in the league with a total of 100 points last season. They had 56 power play goals on 228 chances for a percentage of 25%. That was 5th in the NHL. They gave up 222 power play opportunities and surrendered 45 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking 18th overall. As a team, the Penguins were 6th with a total of 271 goals scored while they gave up 238 goals last season, ranking 18th in goals against. They averaged 33 shots per game and had a team shooting percentage of 9.92%. As a unit they gave up 33 shots per contest and had a save percentage of 91%, putting them 5th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Columbus is 10th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.9%, as they've attempted 4,572 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,402 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 51.7% as they have 3,565 attempts while they have given up 3,326 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 9th in the league. The Blue Jackets start possessions in the offensive zone 52% of the time, which is 11th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 48% for the season. That is 20th overall in the NHL. They have 2,434 face-off wins compared to 2,410 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.2%. That ranks them 16th in the league. On defense Columbus has 1,741 hits and they have blocked 1,076 shots from the opposition, putting them 27th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Penguins are 20th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 49.6% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 50.4% for the season, which is 12th in the NHL. They have 2,482 face-off wins compared to 2,425 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.6%. That is 12th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 2,363 hits and they have blocked 1,229 shots from the opposition, which is 9th in the league. Pittsburgh is 15th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.5% as they've attempted 4,796 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,901 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 49.8% ranks 16th as they have 3,644 attempts while they have given up 3,672 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Columbus +110

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