Pittsburgh Penguins vs Boston Bruins Prediction, 4/3/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Penguins vs Boston Bruins

Date: Saturday, April 3, 2021

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: NHL Network

Odds/Point Spread: Penguins (+110) Bruins (-133)

Jaroslav Halak and the Boston Bruins (18-10-5) host the Pittsburgh Penguins (24-11-2) at TD Garden on Saturday. The Penguins open this contest at +110 while the Bruins are coming in at -133. The over/under is set at 5.5.

The Penguins will head into their next game feeling good after earning a 4-1 win over the Bruins in their previous game. The Corsi for the Penguins was 52 and the Corsi against was 53 which had their Corsi rate coming in at 49.5%. Their offensive zone starts came in at 35.0% and they had a PDO of 113.9 for this game. Pittsburgh earned 4 penalty minutes in this contest. The Penguins had a good offensive performance in this victory. Their Fenwick was 38 and the Fenwick against finished at 42, meaning they had a Fenwick percentage of 47.5%. They accumulated 23 face-off wins when at even strength and were beaten on 32 opportunities to win the puck. Moreover, they had 1 chance with the advantage but weren't able to make the most of that try. For the matchup, they scored on 4 of the 23 shots they put on net.

Regarding their scoring capabilities, the Pittsburgh Penguins have notched 118 goals (8th in hockey) this year and have allowed 95. For the year, they have recorded 50 points and their points % is .676. Pittsburgh comes into tonight with 107 power play opportunities and they have notched 22 goals during those chances, giving them a percentage of 20.56%. At even strength, the Penguins have conceded 71 goals while notching 96 on the offensive side of the ice. Pittsburgh has attempted 1,086 shots and has a shot percentage of 10.9%. The Penguins have had 1,107 shots taken against them and have a save percentage of .914. Pittsburgh Penguins opponents have 112 power play tries (11th in the NHL) and have scored 24 goals in those attempts.

The man protecting the goal in this game is Casey DeSmith. From the beginning of his pro career to now, DeSmith has tallied 33 quality starts and his quality starts percentage is at .623. He has a save percentage of .921 for his 3,459 mins on the ice. DeSmith has had 1,787 shot attempts taken against him and has recorded 1,645 total saves. Opponents have scored 142 goals against DeSmith in his pro hockey career and his goals against average per game is 2.46. He has amassed a mark of 30-18-6 and he was named the starter in 53 games. DeSmith has played in 64 contests during his professional hockey career.

In their loss to Pittsburgh, Boston had 2 chances on the power play in this game but didn't put one in the back of the net. The Bruins notched 1 goal out of the 31 shots on goal they were seeking. Their PDO at even strength was 86 and their oZS percentage was 65.0%. Boston went home with a 50.5% Corsi rating. This Corsi rating is telling of the kind of game that Boston had and it could be said that this team has had better games. Their Fenwick rate came in at 52.5% by way of having a Fenwick of 42 and the Penguins having a 38 Fenwick at even strength.

The Bruins have earned 63 goals at even strength and 23 goals (12th in hockey) while having more men on the ice. Boston has attempted 1,072 shots (18th in pro hockey) and has accumulated a shooting percentage of 8.02%, while allowing their opponents 891 shots. On the season, the Boston Bruins have earned 86 goals, 41 points, and a points percentage of .621. They have earned 101 chances on the power play and they have a power play percentage of 22.77%. They have accumulated a penalty kill rate of 89.62% on the other teams 106 power play chances, and their save percentage comes in at 91.1%. They have granted a total of 79 goals to be scored by of a combination of 68 goals at even strength and 11 goals while they were shorthanded.

Across the ice you will find Jaroslav Halak protecting the net. His opposition is averaging 2.47 goals/game and he has allowed 1,275 goals overall. Halak's percentage of quality starts comes in at 56.7% and he has made 283 quality starts in his pro hockey career. He was named a starter in 499 contests and has been on the ice for 30,912 minutes. Halak has a lifetime record of 280-172-61 and has participated in 536 contests. He has accounted for 13,985 saves out of 15,260 shots attempted, giving him a percentage of .916.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (+110)

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