Boston Bruins vs Pittsburgh Penguins Prediction, 3/16/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Boston Bruins vs Pittsburgh Penguins

Date: Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Location: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: NBCSN

Odds/Point Spread: Bruins (-107) Penguins (-113)

Casey DeSmith and the Pittsburgh Penguins (17-9-1) play the Boston Bruins (14-7-4) at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday. The Bruins open this contest at -107 while the Penguins are coming in at -113. The total is set at 5.5.

The Bruins will look to clean up some issues after taking a 4-0 defeat to the Rangers in their last game. The Corsi for the Bruins was sitting at 26 and the Corsi against was at 39 which had their Corsi rate coming in at 40.0%. Their starts in the offensive zone sat at 38.0% and they had a PDO of 81.0 in this one. Boston compiled 20 penalty mins for this matchup. The Bruins offense left a lot to be desired in this loss. Their Fenwick came in at 16 and the Fenwick Against sat at 27, giving them a Fenwick percentage of 37.2%. They earned 25 face-off wins at even strength and lost on 18 opportunities to control the puck. Moreover, they had 5 chances with extra men on the ice but weren't able to convert one of them into a goal. For the game, they walked away having not converted any of the 18 shots they looked to score on.

Boston Bruins opponents have earned 85 power play opportunities (16th in hockey) and have a total of 9 goals in those attempts. The Bruins have had 665 shots tried against them and hold a save percentage of .913. Boston has taken 772 shots and holds a shot percentage of 8.8%. While playing at even strength, the Bruins have surrendered 49 goals while scoring 51 on the offensive side of the ice. Boston is sitting with 71 power play opportunities and they have scored 17 goals out of those attempts, garnering them a rate of 23.94%. For the current season, they have 32 points and their points percentage comes in at .640. In the matter of their scoring, the Boston Bruins have accounted for 68 goals (24th in pro hockey) for the year and have allowed 58.

The player protecting the goal in this game is Jaroslav Halak. For his career, Halak has accounted for 281 quality starts and his rate for quality starts is .568. His save percentage currently is at .917 during his 30,629 minutes in the crease. Halak has seen 15,126 shot attempts against him and has recorded 13,864 total saves. Opponents have racked up 1,262 goals against Halak in his professional career and his goals against rate is 2.47. He has accumulated a mark of 278-170-60 and he has started in 495 games. Halak has played in 531 games over the course of his hockey career.

Their last time out, Pittsburgh faced off against the Sabres in a game where the Penguins earned a victory by a final score of 3-0. Pittsburgh had a 51.1% Corsi rate. These Corsi stats tell us the story of the kind of game Pittsburgh played and you can say they had a mediocre outing. Their Fenwick percentage was 52.1% with a Fenwick of 38 and the Sabres ending the game with a 35 Fenwick at even strength. Their PDO at even strength was 107 and their oZS percentage was 48.6%. The Penguins scored 3 goals of the 34 shots on goal they were seeking. They had 2 opportunities on the power play in this outing and scored 1 out of those chances.

Pittsburgh has attempted 779 shots (19th in professional hockey) and has earned a shooting percentage of 11.04%, while allowing the opposition 784 shots. They have recorded a penalty kill percentage of 75.00% on their opponents 80 power play tries, and their save percentage currently comes in at 89.9%. They have earned 76 power play opportunities and they have a power play rate of 18.42%. The Penguins have earned 72 goals at even strength and 14 goals (24th in pro hockey) while having more men on the ice. They have allowed 79 goals to be scored by way of 59 goals at even strength and 20 goals while they had less men on the ice. So far this year, the Pittsburgh Penguins have accumulated 86 goals, 35 points, and a points percentage of .648.

Across the rink you will find Casey DeSmith defending the net. DeSmith has a lifetime mark of 27-17-6 and has participated in 59 games. DeSmith's quality start rate comes out to 59.2% and he has 29 quality starting assignments in his pro career. He has gathered 1,505 saves out of 1,642 shots taken against him, giving him a percentage of .917. His opponents are averaging 2.58 goals per game and he has yielded 137 goals altogether. He has been a starter 49 games and has played 3,181 minutes.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Boston (-107)

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