Pittsburgh Penguins vs New Jersey Devils Prediction, 3/18/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Penguins vs New Jersey Devils

Date: Thursday, March 18, 2021

Location: Prudential Center in Newark, NJ

TV: MSG+

Odds/Point Spread: Penguins (-208) Devils (+170)

MacKenzie Blackwood and the New Jersey Devils (9-13-4) play the Pittsburgh Penguins (18-10-1) at Prudential Center on Thursday. The Penguins open this game at -208 while the Devils are priced at +170. The over/under opens at 6.5.

The Penguins were on the losing side of the ice with a 2-1 defeat to the Bruins in their previous outing. The Corsi for the Penguins was 39 and the Corsi against when this game finished was 50 meaning they had a Corsi rate of 43.8%. When starting in the offensive zone they were rated at 51.9% and they had a PDO of 99.7 in this game. Pittsburgh garnered 8 mins in the box in this contest. The Penguins had a below average offensive performance in the loss. Their Fenwick was 32 and the Fenwick Against sat at 37, giving them a Fenwick rate of 46.4%. They accounted for 18 face-off victories when at even strength and lost on 24 attempts to win the face-off. In addition, they had 4 opportunities with more players on the ice but weren't able to convert one of them into a goal. In the outing, they converted 1 out of the 35 shots they put on goal.

With regard to their scoring, the Pittsburgh Penguins have accounted for 91 goals (8th in the National Hockey League) this season and have allowed 82. For the season, they sit with 37 points and their points percentage is .638. Pittsburgh steps onto the ice with 84 power play opportunities and they have notched 15 goals out of those attempts, giving them a rate of 17.86%. At even strength, the Penguins have conceded 60 goals while scoring 76 of their own. Pittsburgh has attempted 840 shots and has a shooting percentage of 10.8%. The Penguins have had 860 shots attempted against them and hold a save percentage of .905. Pittsburgh Penguins opponents have recorded 88 power play opportunities (17th in pro hockey) and have earned 22 goals in those attempts.

The player protecting the goal in this game is Tristan Jarry. Jarry has taken the ice for 82 games during his pro hockey career. He has an overall mark of 46-27-5 and he has started in 77 games. The opposition has been able to score 207 goals versus Jarry in his career and his goals against average per game is 2.68. Jarry has seen 2,356 shots taken against him and has accrued 2,149 total saves. He has a save percentage of .912 during his 4,630 minutes guarding the cage. For his professional hockey career, Jarry has accrued 46 quality starts and his quality starts rate is .597.

In their last contest, New Jersey faced off against the Sabres in a game where the Devils notched a victory by a mark of 3-2. New Jersey earned a 49.4% Corsi rating. These Corsi stats tell us the story of the kind of game New Jersey played and you could say that they played like a middle of the road team. Their Fenwick percentage came in at 48.0% by way of having a Fenwick of 36 and the Sabres having accrued a 39 Fenwick at even strength. They had a PDO at even strength of 102 and they had an oZS percentage of 41.0%. The Devils netted 3 goals out of the 27 shots on goal they were seeking. They had 3 attempts on the power play in this matchup and scored 1 out of those opportunities.

New Jersey has taken 766 shots (28th in professional hockey) and has a shot percentage of 8.49%, while allowing their opponents 810 shots. They have a penalty kill rate of 71.25% on their opponents 80 power play opportunities, and their save percentage currently sits at 90.0%. They have earned 75 power play opportunities and they have earned a power play rate of 13.33%. The Devils have accumulated 55 goals at even strength and 10 goals (29th in hockey) while on the power play. They have allowed 81 goals to be scored by way of 58 goals at even strength and 23 goals while they had less men on the ice. Over the course of the season, the New Jersey Devils have 65 goals, 22 points, as well as a points percentage of .423.

On the other side of the ice you will find Mackenzie Blackwood in goal. Blackwood has amassed a career mark of 38-32-9 and has been in goal for 85 contests. Blackwood's percentage of quality starts comes out to 55.7% and he has made 44 quality starts in his pro career. He has gathered 2,360 stops out of the 2,584 shots attempted, which gives him a percentage of .913. His opponents are averaging 2.78 goals per game and he has yielded 224 goals in total. He has been a starter 79 games and has played 4,834 mins.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (-208)

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