New Jersey Devils vs Pittsburgh Penguins Prediction, 3/21/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: New Jersey Devils vs Pittsburgh Penguins

Date: Sunday, March 21, 2021

Location: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: NHL Network

Odds/Point Spread: Devils (+185) Penguins (-225)

Casey DeSmith and the Pittsburgh Penguins (18-11-1) host the New Jersey Devils (10-13-4) at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday. The Devils open this contest at +185 while the Penguins are priced at -225. The over/under has been set at 5.5.

The Devils were on the right side of the scoreboard with a 3-2 victory against the Penguins in their previous contest. The Devils had a middle of the road showing in the victory. For the game, they scored on 3 of the 35 shots they put on net. In addition, they had 1 chance on the power play and were able to net 1 goal. New Jersey tallied 2 mins in the box in this game. The Corsi for the Devils sat at 63 and the Corsi against when this game finished was 64 which had their Corsi percentage coming in at 49.6%. Their Fenwick came in at 44 and the Fenwick Against sat at 53, giving them a Fenwick percentage of 45.4%. They accumulated 29 face-off wins at even strength and lost on 33 attempts to take control of the puck. Their offensive zone starts sat at 37.5% and their PDO rating was 103.3 for this matchup.

In terms of their scoring capabilities, the New Jersey Devils have notched 68 goals (30th in pro hockey) on the campaign and have allowed 83. For the season, they have accumulated 24 points and their points percentage is .444. New Jersey comes into tonight with 76 power play opportunities and they have notched 11 goals out of those chances, garnering them a percentage of 14.47%. When at even strength, the Devils have allowed 59 goals while having 57 of their own. New Jersey has taken 801 shots and has a shot percentage of 8.5%. The Devils have had 852 shots tried against them and have earned a save percentage of .903. New Jersey Devils opponents have earned 82 power play opportunities (26th in hockey) and have racked up 24 goals in those attempts.

The man protecting the goal in this game is Mackenzie Blackwood. Throughout his time in hockey, Blackwood is sitting with 43 quality starts and his quality starts rate sits at .544. He has a save percentage of .913 in his 4,834 mins in the crease. Blackwood has seen 2,584 shots taken against him and has accrued 2,360 total saves. The opposition has notched 224 goals against Blackwood in his professional career and his goals against rate is 2.78. He has earned an overall record of 38-32-9 and he has started in 79 games. Blackwood has been involved in 85 contests during his professional hockey career.

In their loss to the Devils, Pittsburgh wound up with a 50.4% Corsi rate. This Corsi rating is telling of the kind of game that Pittsburgh had and we'd say it was a below average outing in all. Their Fenwick rate was 54.6% with a Fenwick of 53 and the Devils having accrued a 44 Fenwick. Their PDO at even strength was 97 and they'll go home having earned an oZS percentage of 62.5%. The Penguins scored 2 goals of the 42 shots on goal they took. They had 2 power play chances in this one and converted 1 out of those opportunities.

Pittsburgh has tried 882 shots (18th in professional hockey) and has earned a shot percentage of 10.54%, while allowing the other team 895 shots. They have recorded a penalty kill percentage of 74.16% on their opponents 89 tries on the power play, and their save percentage comes in at 90.5%. They have earned 86 power play chances and they have earned a power play rate of 18.60%. The Penguins have scored 77 goals at even strength and 16 goals (23rd in the NHL) while having more men on the ice. They have permitted 85 goals to be scored by way of 62 goals at even strength and 23 goals while they were shorthanded. Over the course of the season, the Pittsburgh Penguins have accounted for 93 goals, 37 points, in addition to a points percentage of .617.

For the opposition you will find Casey DeSmith defending the net. His opposition is averaging 2.57 goals/game and he has given up 139 goals in total. DeSmith's quality start percentage comes out to 60.0% and he has made 30 quality starting assignments in his pro career. He has started in 50 contests and has racked up 3,239 mins. DeSmith has earned a lifetime record of 27-18-6 and has participated in 60 games. He is sitting with 1,536 stops out of 1,675 shots taken, giving him a percentage of .917.

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

Tony's Pick: Take New Jersey (+185)

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