Pittsburgh Penguins vs Columbus Blue Jackets Predictions, Free NHL Pick 3/12/2020

Game: Pittsburgh Penguins vs Columbus Blue Jackets

Date: Thursday, March 12, 2020

Location: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH

TV: ATTP

Odds/Point Spread: Penguins (-140) Blue Jackets (+127)

Total/Over-Under: 5.5

Nationwide Arena is the venue where Joonas Korpisalo and the Columbus Blue Jackets (33-22-15, 5th in the Metropolitan Division) will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins (40-23-6, 3rd in the Metropolitan Division) on Thursday. The Blue Jackets open this game at +127 while the Penguins are coming in at -140. The over/under has been set at 5.5. The Penguins are covering 56.1% of the time, having gone 37-29 SU. The Blue Jackets are covering 47.1% of the time, going 33-37 straight up.

The Pittsburgh Penguins head into this game holding a record of 40 victories and 23 defeats, putting them at 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. During the year thus far, they have scored a total of 221 goals which has them at 8th in the Eastern Conference and 11th in the NHL. Their goal differential is +25, putting them at 6th in the NHL. The Penguins currently have a total of 86 points, which has them at 7th in the NHL and 5th in the East. When talking about shots on goal, they currently have a total of 2,204 which has them at 8th in the East and 14th in the NHL. As a team, Pittsburgh currently has a total of 1,754 hits which has them averaging 25.4 per game. They currently have a total of 774 blocks for the season. The man between the pipes for Pittsburgh is Matt Murray from Surrey, British Columbia. He is 25 years old and has racked up 2,238 minutes minding the goal this year. Murray is surrendering 2.87 goals against average which has him sitting 19th among East goaltenders and 38th in the NHL among goalies. For the year, he's allowed 107 goals. He holds a save % of .899 which has him sitting 27th among East goaltenders.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins were on the winning side of the scoreboard with a 5 - 2 win over the New Jersey Devils in their last contest. The Penguins had a solid offensive outing and it was apparent in the win. In their game, they netted 5 out of the 33 shots they put on goal. Additionally, they had 4 power play chances but weren't able to score. Pittsburgh earned a total of 6 penalty minutes for this matchup. The Corsi for the Penguins was 48 and the Corsi against was 29 giving them a Corsi percentage of 62.3%. Their Fenwick was 31 and the Fenwick against was 27, meaning they had a Fenwick percentage of 53.4%. They earned 26 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 14 tries to control the puck. The offensive zone starts for them were rated at 50.0% and they had a PDO of 113.7 for this matchup. With regard to the opposition's stats, the New Jersey Devils earned a total of 22 shots. They had a total of 8 penalty minutes and they had 3 power play attempts.

The Blue Jackets will be on the other side of the ice and for the campaign they have 33 victories and 22 defeats. Regarding goal differential, they are currently ranked 11th in the conference and 21st in the NHL with -3. They have a total of 180 goals for the season which has them sitting at 15th in the East. Columbus has a save % as a team of .913 which has them ranked 4th in the NHL, which means chances to score may be limited. They have a team shooting percentage of 7.9% which puts them at 15th in the conference. In goal for Columbus is Joonas Korpisalo who is having a marginal campaign by allowing 2.60 goals against average and that ranks him 10th among Eastern Conference goalies and 17th in the NHL. In the 2,126 mins he has played, he's given up 92 goals. He holds a save % of .911, which puts him at 15th among Eastern Conference goalies and 33rd in the NHL.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets squared up with the Vancouver Canucks in an outing where the Blue Jackets took home the victory by a tally of 2 - 1. In this game, Columbus earned a 48.4% Corsi rating. They wound up with that percentage by having a Corsi of 44 and the other team having a Corsi of 47. They had a Fenwick percentage of 46.9% with a Fenwick of 30 and the Canucks finishing with a 34 Fenwick. These Corsi stats speak to the kind of game that Columbus had and the stats tell us that they didn't play well overall. Their PDO at even strength was 105.8 and they'll go home having earned an oZS percentage of 46.2%. The Blue Jackets notched 2 goals out of the 22 shots on goal they were seeking. They had 2 power play chances in this one but weren't able to score a goal. Concerning the opposition, the Canucks had 3 power play attempts but were not able to score a goal. Columbus gave up 27 shots on goal and the Canucks racked up a total of 4 penalty mins.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Guy's Pick: Take Columbus (+127)

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