Pittsburgh Penguins at Columbus Blue Jackets Expert NHL Picks Against the Spread 2/26/2019

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Nationwide Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins travel to Nationwide Arena to play the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, February 26, 2019. The opening line for this game has the Penguins at -103 and the Blue Jackets at -129.

Pittsburgh has a record of 32-22-8 this season. They are 5th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 212 goals and given up 193 goals for a point differential of +19. For the season they have an ATS record of 32-30-0 and an over/under record of 30-27-0. Columbus is 35-23-3 this season. They are 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. They have scored 195 goals and surrendered 179 for a goal differential of +16. Their record against the spread is 35-26-0 while their over/under record is 23-32-0.

Valuable Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 32-30-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 30-27-0 against the over/under this season

Important Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Trends

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 35-26-0 straight up this year

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 23-32-0 against the over/under this season

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

02/24/19 D Brian Dumoulin Undisclosed left last game, is doubtful Tuesday vs Columbus
02/24/19 D Kris Letang Upper Body left last game, is questionable Tuesday vs Columbus
02/12/19 D Olli Maatta Upper Body IR (02/12)

Key Columbus Blue Jackets Injuries

02/22/19 LW Ryan Dzingel Undisclosed is questionable Sunday vs Calgary
02/21/19 D Ryan Murray Upper Body is out indefinitely
02/19/19 LW Markus Hannikainen Illness IR (02/19)

Player Spotlight

Sidney Crosby has accumulated 75 total points this season for the Penguins. He has 26 goals this year with 172 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 49 assists on the season and averages 20.8 minutes played per game. Phil Kessel averages 18 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 21 goals on 155 shots. He has 42 assists, giving him a total of 63 points on the season. Matt Murray has 18 wins and 10 losses this season in net for the Penguins. He has 993 shots against him and he's given up 87 goals. He's made 906 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Artemi Panarin has scored 68 total points this year for the Blue Jackets. He has 24 goals this season with 149 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 44 assists on the season and averages 20.1 minutes played per game. Cam Atkinson averages 19.6 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by scoring 34 goals on 233 shots. He has 24 assists, giving him a total of 58 points on the season. Sergei Bobrovsky has 26 wins and 18 losses this year in goal for the Blue Jackets. He has 1,282 shots against him and he's surrendered 118 goals. He's made 1,164 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins have 72 total points this season, which ranks them 12th in the NHL. They are 5th in the league in goals scored with 212 while they've given up 193 goals, ranking them 12th overall. They have had 167 power play opportunities and have scored 41 goals on those chances for a percentage of 25%. That is 6th in the NHL. The Penguins have allowed 173 power play opportunities and have given up 34 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, putting them 16th in the league when short-handed. They average 33 shots per game and as a team shoot 10.46% for the season. They allow 34 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%. That puts them 9th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blue Jackets are 11th in the NHL with a total of 73 points this year. They have 27 power play goals on 174 opportunities for a percentage of 16%. That ranks them 26th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 161 power play opportunities and have given up 26 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 84%. That is 3rd in the NHL. As a team, the Blue Jackets are 10th in the league with 195 goals scored while they've given up 179 goals, which is 20th overall. They average 32 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 9.99%. As a team they give up 30 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 18th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Pittsburgh is 20th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49%, as they've attempted 3,592 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,737 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 49.3% as they have 2,722 attempts while they have given up 2,801 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 18th in the league. The Penguins start possessions in the offensive zone 48.2% of the time, which is 26th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 51.8% for the season. That is 6th overall in the NHL. They have 1,873 face-off wins compared to 1,871 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50%. That ranks them 16th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 1,833 hits and they have blocked 936 shots from the opposition, putting them 8th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Blue Jackets are 11th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 51.9% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 48.1% for the season, which is 20th in the NHL. They have 1,798 face-off wins compared to 1,837 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.5%. That is 20th in the league. On defense Columbus has 1,245 hits and they have blocked 821 shots from the opposition, which is 27th in the league. Columbus is 11th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.9% as they've attempted 3,421 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,299 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 52% ranks 7th as they have 2,682 attempts while they have given up 2,478 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Columbus -129

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