Pittsburgh Penguins at Montreal Canadiens NHL Game Picks 3/2/2019

Saturday, March 2, 2019

Bell Centre

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins head to Bell Centre to take on the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, March 2, 2019. The opening line for this contest has the Penguins at -118 and the Canadiens at -110.

Pittsburgh has a record of 33-22-8 this year. They are 5th in the Metropolitan Division. They've tallied 217 goals and surrendered 195 goals for a point differential of +22. For the year they have an ATS mark of 33-30-0 and an over/under record of 31-27-0. Montreal has a record of 34-23-7 this season. They are 4th in the Atlantic Division. They have scored 194 goals and given up 186 for a goal differential of +8. Their record against the spread is 34-30-0 while their over/under mark is 28-33-0.

Valuable Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 33-30-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 31-27-0 against the over/under this season

Important Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends

The Montreal Canadiens are 34-30-0 straight up this year

The Montreal Canadiens are 28-33-0 against the over/under this season

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

02/27/19 D Brian Dumoulin Concussion is questionable Friday vs Buffalo
02/27/19 RW Bryan Rust Lower Body is out indefinitely
02/27/19 D Chad Ruhwedel Upper Body is out indefinitely
02/27/19 D Kris Letang Upper Body is questionable Friday vs Buffalo
02/12/19 D Olli Maatta Upper Body IR (02/12)

Key Montreal Canadiens Injuries

02/28/19 LW Paul Byron Illness is questionable Friday vs NY Rangers

Player Spotlight

Sidney Crosby has scored 77 total points this year for the Penguins. He has 27 goals this season with 176 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 50 assists on the year and averages 20.8 minutes played per contest. Phil Kessel averages 18 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by tallying 21 goals on 156 attempts. He has 43 assists, giving him a total of 64 points on the year. Matt Murray has 19 wins and 10 losses this season in goal for the Penguins. He has 1,016 shots against him and he's surrendered 89 goals. He's made 927 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Max Domi has 59 total points this season for the Canadiens. He has 22 goals this year with 147 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 37 assists on the year and averages 17.4 minutes played per contest. Tomas Tatar averages 16.3 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 22 goals on 162 attempts. He has 25 assists, giving him a total of 47 points on the year. Carey Price has 26 wins and 18 losses this season in net for the Canadiens. He has 1,489 shots against him and he's given up 123 goals. He's made 1,366 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins have 74 total points this year, which is 12th in the NHL. They've scored 217 goals while giving up 195 scores, which has them ranked 6th and 16th respectively. They have had 169 power play chances and scored 41 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 24%. That is 6th in the league. The Penguins have given up 176 power play opportunities and surrendered 35 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking them 17th when short-handed. They average 33 shots per contest and as a team shoot 10.56% for the year. They allow 33 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 9th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canadiens are 10th in the league with a total of 75 points this season. They have 25 power play goals on 197 chances for a percentage of 13%. That is 30th in the NHL. They've given up 206 power play opportunities and surrendered 41 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking 18th overall. As a team, the Canadiens are 12th with a total of 194 goals scored while they've given up 186 goals this season, ranking 19th in goals against. They average 33 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 9.09%. As a unit they give up 31 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 11th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Pittsburgh is 19th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49%, as they've attempted 3,640 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,786 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 49.3% as they have 2,755 attempts while they have given up 2,831 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 18th in the league. The Penguins start possessions in the offensive zone 48.3% of the time, which is 26th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 51.7% for the season. That is 6th overall in the NHL. They have 1,887 face-off wins compared to 1,902 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.8%. That ranks them 18th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 1,844 hits and they have blocked 955 shots from the opposition, putting them 9th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Canadiens are 9th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 52.1% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 47.9% for the season, which is 23rd in the NHL. They have 1,870 face-off wins compared to 2,001 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.3%. That is 26th in the league. On defense Montreal has 1,705 hits and they have blocked 929 shots from the opposition, which is 13th in the league. Montreal is 5th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 52.9% as they've attempted 4,077 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,626 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 52% ranks 7th as they have 2,921 attempts while they have given up 2,697 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Pittsburgh -118

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