Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens - 1/4/20 NHL Picks, Odds, and Prediction

Game: Pittsburgh Penguins vs Montreal Canadiens

Date: Saturday, January 4, 2020

Location: Bell Centre in Montreal, QC

TV: ATTP/CBC

Odds/Point Spread: Penguins (-110) Canadiens (+100)

Total/Over-Under: 6

Tristan Jarry and the Pittsburgh Penguins (24-11-5, 3rd in the Metropolitan Division) are headed to Bell Centre on Saturday where they'll take on the Montreal Canadiens (18-17-6, 6th in the Atlantic Division). The Penguins open this contest at -110 while the Canadiens are coming in at +100. The over/under opens at 6. The Penguins are covering 57.9% of the time, having gone 22-16 SU. Montreal is covering 41.0% of the time, going 16-23 straight up.

The Pittsburgh Penguins head into this game holding a record of 24 wins and 11 defeats, which puts them at 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. So far this season, they have scored a total of 136 goals which has them ranked at 6th in the East and 7th in the league. Their goal differential is +29, which puts them at 3rd in the league. The Penguins have earned a total of 53 pts, which has them ranked at 4th in the league and 3rd in the conference. When it comes to shots at the opposing goalie, they have earned a total of 1,333 which has them ranked at 5th in the East and 9th in the league. As a unit, Pittsburgh has collected a total of 1,089 hits which means they have an average of 27.2 per game. They have earned a total of 443 blocks for the season. The goalie for Pittsburgh is Tristan Jarry from Surrey, British Columbia. He is 24 years old and has totaled 1,084 mins defending the goal for the season. Kinkaid is surrendering an average of 1.94 goals against average which puts him at 1st among Eastern Conference goaltenders and 1st in the NHL among goalies. Over the course of this year, he has allowed 35 goals. He's earned a save percentage of .936 which puts him at 1st among Eastern Conference goaltenders.

Related: NHL Totals Betting: Expert Tips and Advice

The Pittsburgh Penguins will look to clean up some issues after taking a 3 - 2 loss against the San Jose Sharks in their previous game. The Penguins had an offensive game that was below their expectations in the loss. In this game, they netted 2 out of the 38 shots they looked to score on. They also had 2 power play attempts but weren't able to notch a goal in these power play chances. Pittsburgh racked up a total of 4 penalty mins for this outing. The Corsi for the Penguins sat at 58 and the Corsi against was 46 telling us they have a Corsi percentage of 55.8%. Their Fenwick sat at 46 while the Fenwick against sat at 34, telling us they have a Fenwick percentage of 57.5%. They took 30 face-off wins at even strength and lost 31 tries to control the puck. Their starts in the offensive zone were rated at 68.9% and they had a PDO at even strength of 99.4 for this game. In terms of their opponent's stats, the San Jose Sharks put up 32 shots. They finished with 4 penalty minutes and they notched 2 power play opportunities.

The Canadiens will be looking to get a victory in this matchup and for the season they have 18 victories and 17 losses. In discussing goal differential, they currently sit 10th in the Eastern Conference and 18th in the NHL with -2. They have a total of 130 goals for the year which has them ranked at 9th in the conference. Montreal has a save % as a team of .897 which currently has them sitting 24th in the NHL, which means there could be plenty of chances to score if they attack the goal. They have a team shooting percentage of 8.9% ranking them 13th in the Eastern Conference. In goal for Montreal is Carey Price who is having a rough season by giving up 3.00 goals per game and that has him ranked 19th in the East and 39th among goalies in the NHL. In the 1,937 minutes he's been on the ice this year, he has given up 97 goals. He holds a save % of .901, which has him sitting 24th in the East and 46th among goalies in the NHL.

Related: How to Turn Hockey Bets into Big Profits

The Montreal Canadiens faced off against the Tampa Bay Lightning in a game where the Canadiens ended up losing by a final of 2 - 1. In this game, Montreal went home with a 62.5% Corsi rating. They got there by having a Corsi of 65 and the other team having a Corsi of 39. Their Fenwick percentage came in at 60.8% by way of having a Fenwick of 48 and the Lightning having a 31 Fenwick at even strength. These Corsi statistics are telling of the type of game that Montreal had and you could say that they have had better days on the ice. They had a PDO of 93.5 and they finished the game with an oZS percentage of 63.3%. The Canadiens converted 1 goal of the 39 shots on goal they took. They had 3 power play opportunities in this outing but weren't able to put one in the back of the net. Concerning the opposition, the Lightning had 1 power play chance but didn't put the puck in goal. Montreal gave way to 23 shots on goal and the Lightning had 15 minutes in the box.

Who will win tonight's hockey game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (-110)

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