Pittsburgh Penguins vs Montreal Canadiens Predictions, NHL Picks, Betting Tips 8/7/2020

Game: Pittsburgh Penguins vs Montreal Canadiens

Date: Friday, August 7, 2020

Location: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON

TV: NBCSN

Odds/Point Spread: Penguins (-179) Canadiens (+144)

Total/Over-Under: 5.5

Matt Murray and the Pittsburgh Penguins (40-23-6, 3rd in the Metropolitan Division) go to Scotiabank Arena on Friday where they'll take on the Montreal Canadiens (31-31-9, 5th in the Atlantic Division). Montreal leads the series 2-1. The moneyline on this game has the Penguins coming in at -179 and the Canadiens are at +144. The total has been set at 5.5. The Penguins are covering 56.1% of the time, having gone 37-29 SU. Montreal is covering 40.3% of the time, going 27-40 straight up.

The Pittsburgh Penguins head into this game holding a record of 40 wins and 23 losses, which is good for 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. So far this year, they have scored a total of 221 goals which has them ranked at 8th in the East and 13th in the NHL. Their goal differential is +25, which is good for 6th in the NHL. The Penguins have earned a total of 86 points, which has them ranked at 7th in the NHL and 5th in the East. Regarding shots at the opposing goalie, they have earned a total of 2,204 which has them ranked at 8th in the conference and 16th in the NHL. As a group, Pittsburgh has earned a total of 1,754 hits which means they have an average of 25.4 per game. They have earned a total of 774 blocks for the year. In goal for Pittsburgh is Matt Murray from Surrey, British Columbia. He is 25 years old and has totaled 2,238 mins protecting the net for the season. Murray is surrendering 2.87 goals per contest which has him ranked 19th among East goaltenders and 38th in the NHL. Over the course of this year, he's allowed 107 goals. He's earned a save percentage of .899 which has him ranked 27th among East goaltenders.

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The Penguins were on the losing side of the ice with a 4 - 3 defeat to the Canadiens in Game 3. The Penguins had an average offensive outing in the defeat. In the outing, they finished 3 of the 33 shots they tried. In addition, they had 3 power play opportunities and were able to net 2 goals out of those chances. Pittsburgh racked up a total of 10 penalty mins in this game. The Corsi for the Penguins sat at 49 and the Corsi against was 41 which means they had a Corsi percentage of 54.4%. Their Fenwick was 35 while the Fenwick against sat at 32, which earned them a rate of 52.2%. They took 26 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 27 of all total face-offs. Their offensive zone starts came in at 60.8% and they had a PDO at even strength of 87.7 for this one. In terms of their opponent's stats, the Montreal Canadiens earned 31 shots. They ended the game with 6 penalty minutes and they had 5 power play attempts.

The Canadiens are the team looking to add points to their total and for the year they have 31 victories and 31 defeats. In the matter of goal differential, they are sitting 12th in the East and 24th in the league with -12. They currently have a total of 208 goals for the season which ranks them 10th in the Eastern Conference. Montreal has a team save percentage of .900 which is good for 22nd in the league, which tells us there should be some chances to score. They have a team shooting percentage of 8.6% putting them at 14th in the conference. In net for Montreal is Carey Price who is having an average year by surrendering 2.79 goals per game and that has him ranked 17th among Eastern Conference goaltenders and 34th among goaltenders in the NHL. In the 3,440 mins he's played this season, he's surrendered 160 goals. He's earned a save % of .909, which has him ranked 18th among Eastern Conference goaltenders and 37th among goaltenders in the NHL.

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In Game 3 Montreal had a 45.6% Corsi rating. That percentage was had by having a Corsi of 41 and they gave up a Corsi of 49. They earned a Fenwick percentage of 47.8% by way of having a Fenwick of 32 and the Penguins having earned a 35 Fenwick. These Corsi stats tell us the story of the kind of game Montreal had and it tells us that they played really well in this game. They had a PDO at even strength of 112.3 and they had an oZS percentage of 39.5%. The Canadiens netted 4 goals of the 31 shots on goal they attempted. They had 5 power play attempts in this one but weren't able to finish one of them with a goal. As for their opponent, the Penguins had 3 power play opportunities and went on to score 2 goals. Montreal conceded 33 shots on goal and the Penguins ended up with 10 penalty mins.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (-179)

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