Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Islanders Expert Game 1 Picks 4/10/2019

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Nassau Coliseum

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins head to Nassau Coliseum to take on the New York Islanders on Wednesday in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The opening line for this contest has the Penguins at -130 and the Islanders at +110.

Pittsburgh has a record of 44-26-12 this year. They are 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. They've tallied 271 goals and surrendered 238 goals for a point differential of +33. For the year they have an ATS mark of 44-38-0 and an over/under record of 35-41-0. New York has a record of 48-27-7 this season. They are 2nd in the Metropolitan Division. They have scored 223 goals and given up 191 for a goal differential of +32. Their record against the spread is 48-34-0 while their over/under mark is 27-50-0.

Valuable Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 44-38-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 35-41-0 against the over/under this season

Important New York Islanders Betting Trends

The New York Islanders are 48-34-0 straight up this year

The New York Islanders are 27-50-0 against the over/under this season

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

03/15/19 C Zach Aston-Reese Lower Body is out indefinitely
02/27/19 D Chad Ruhwedel Upper Body is out indefinitely

Key New York Islanders Injuries

04/01/19 LW Tanner Fritz Blood Clot is out 6-8 weeks
03/26/19 LW Andrew Ladd Lower Body is out for season
03/22/19 GO Linus Soderstrom Upper Body is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Phil Kessel has scored 82 total points this year for the Penguins. He has 27 goals this season with 215 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He has a total of 55 assists on the year and averages 18 minutes played per contest. Sidney Crosby averages 21 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by tallying 35 goals on 220 attempts. He has 65 assists, giving him a total of 100 points on the year. Matt Murray has 29 wins and 14 losses this season in goal for the Penguins. He has 1,594 shots against him and he's surrendered 129 goals. He's made 1,465 stops for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Mathew Barzal has 62 total points this season for the Islanders. He has 18 goals this year with 179 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 44 assists on the year and averages 17.9 minutes played per contest. Josh Bailey averages 16.8 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by scoring 16 goals on 126 attempts. He has 40 assists, giving him a total of 56 points on the year. Robin Lehner has 25 wins and 13 losses this season in net for the Islanders. He has 1,323 shots against him and he's given up 93 goals. He's made 1,230 saves for a save percentage of 93%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins have 100 total points this year, which is 8th in the NHL. They've scored 271 goals while giving up 238 scores, which has them ranked 6th and 18th respectively. They have had 228 power play chances and scored 56 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 25%. That is 5th in the league. The Penguins have given up 222 power play opportunities and surrendered 45 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking them 18th when short-handed. They average 33 shots per contest and as a team shoot 9.92% for the year. They allow 33 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 5th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Islanders are 5th in the league with a total of 103 points this season. They have 33 power play goals on 227 chances for a percentage of 15%. That is 29th in the NHL. They've given up 219 power play opportunities and surrendered 44 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking 17th overall. As a team, the Islanders are 22nd with a total of 223 goals scored while they've given up 191 goals this season, ranking 31st in goals against. They average 29 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 9.45%. As a unit they give up 31 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 93%, putting them 1st overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

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 is 49.8% as they have 3,644 attempts while they have given up 3,672 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 16th in the league. The Penguins start possessions in the offensive zone 49.6% of the time, which is 20th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.4% for the season. That is 12th overall 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 ranks them 12th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 2,363 hits and they have blocked 1,229 shots from the opposition, putting them 9th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Islanders are 24th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 48.6% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 51.4% for the season, which is 7th in the NHL. They have 2,124 face-off wins compared to 2,353 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.4%. That is 29th in the league. On defense New York has 2,031 hits and they have blocked 1,295 shots from the opposition, which is 4th in the league. New York is 27th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 47.4% as they've attempted 4,314 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,779 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 48.1% ranks 25th as they have 3,228 attempts while they have given up 3,484 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Pittsburgh -130

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