Dallas Stars vs Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Picks Against the Spread 10/18/2019

Friday, October 18, 2019

PPG Paints Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

PPG Paints Arena is the venue where Jake Guentzel and the Pittsburgh Penguins (5-2-0, 2nd in the Metropolitan Division) will play the Dallas Stars (1-6-1, 6th in the Central Division) on Friday. The moneyline on this game has the Stars priced at +123 and the Penguins are at -136. The over/under opens at 5.5. The Stars are covering 12.5% of the time, having gone 1-7 SU. The Penguins are covering 71.4% of the time, going 5-2 straight up.

The Dallas Stars will look for better times on the ice after their 3 - 2 defeat against the Columbus Blue Jackets in their last game. The Stars didn't have a great showing offensively in this loss. In this matchup, they netted 2 out of the 32 shots they attempted. Moreover, they had 2 power play chances but didn't get a goal. Dallas earned 6 penalty mins for this game. The Corsi for the Stars sat at 46 and the Corsi against was 42 which earned them a Corsi percentage of 52.3%. Their Fenwick sat at 35 and the Fenwick against was 31, telling us they have a rate of 53.0%. They took 23 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 21 tries to control the puck. Their starts in the offensive zone came in at 56.7% and they had a PDO of 96.2 in this game. Regarding their opponent, the Columbus Blue Jackets racked up a total of 35 shots. They had a total of 4 minutes in the box and they tallied 3 power play chances.

Useful Team Statistics

The Stars have 3 total points this season, which ranks them 27th in the NHL. They are 22nd in the league in goals scored with 15 while they've given up 25 goals, ranking them 7th overall. They have had 24 power play opportunities and have scored 1 goal on those chances for a percentage of 4%. That is 29th in the NHL. The Stars have allowed 31 power play opportunities and have given up 6 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, putting them 17th in the league when short-handed. They average 28 shots per game and as a team shoot 6.70% for the season. They allow 28 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 89%. That puts them 22nd in the league in stopping the puck.

The Pittsburgh Penguins faced off against the Colorado Avalanche in a matchup where the Penguins notched a victory by a final of 3 - 2. For this outing, Pittsburgh wound up with a 50.6% Corsi rating. They ended up with that by earning a Corsi of 43 while their opponent earned a Corsi of 42. They earned a Fenwick percentage of 53.8% by earning a Fenwick of 35 and the Avalanche having a 30 Fenwick. This Corsi rating is telling of the kind of game that Pittsburgh played and you could say that they played like a middle of the road team. They had a PDO of 98.6 and they'll go home having earned an oZS percentage of 38.8%. The Penguins netted 3 goals of the 33 shots on goal they tried. They had 3 power play chances in this one but didn't put one in the back of the net. As for the opposition, the Avalanche had 3 power play chances but were not able to notch a goal. Pittsburgh conceded 28 shots on goal and the Avalanche racked up 6 minutes in the box.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins are 7th in the NHL with a total of 10 points this year. They have 6 power play goals on 26 opportunities for a percentage of 23%. That ranks them 13th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 17 power play opportunities and have given up 3 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%. That is 12th in the NHL. As a team, the Penguins are 2nd in the league with 28 goals scored while they've given up 18 goals, which is 22nd overall. They average 33 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 12.12%. As a team they give up 31 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%. That is 9th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Dallas is 17th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.6%, as they've attempted 279 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 284 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 48.9% as they have 204 attempts while they have given up 213 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 20th in the league. The Stars start possessions in the offensive zone 52.5% of the time, which is 8th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.5% for the season. That is 25th overall in the NHL. They have 169 face-off wins compared to 158 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.7%. That ranks them 12th in the league. On defense Dallas has 112 hits and they have blocked 71 shots from the opposition, putting them 11th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Penguins are 26th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 44.7% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 55.3% for the season, which is 6th in the NHL. They have 170 face-off wins compared to 141 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 54.7%. That is 2nd in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 186 hits and they have blocked 72 shots from the opposition, which is 9th in the league. Pittsburgh is 10th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.7% as they've attempted 274 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 256 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 53.3% ranks 6th as they have 210 attempts while they have given up 184 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Dallas

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Read more articles by Guy Bruhn