Pittsburgh Penguins vs New Jersey Devils Prediction, 3/20/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Penguins vs New Jersey Devils

Date: Saturday, March 20, 2021

Location: Prudential Center in Newark, NJ

TV: MSG+

Odds/Point Spread: Penguins (-153) Devils (+133)

MacKenzie Blackwood and the New Jersey Devils (10-13-4) host the Pittsburgh Penguins (18-11-1) at Prudential Center on Saturday. The Penguins open this contest at -153 while the Devils are priced at +133. The total opens at 5.5.

The Penguins will need a bounce back game after taking a 3-2 defeat against the Devils in their last game. Their starts in the offensive zone sat at 62.5% and their PDO rating was 96.7 in this one. They had 33 face-off wins at even strength and lost on 29 attempts to win the face-off. Their Fenwick was 53 and the Fenwick against was 44, meaning they had a Fenwick percentage of 54.6%. The Corsi for the Penguins sat at 64 and the Corsi against when all was said and done was 63 meaning they had a Corsi rate of 50.4%. Pittsburgh recorded 4 penalty minutes for this contest. They also had 2 power play chances and netted 1 goal. The Penguins had an offensive game that was below their expectations in the defeat. In the game, they scored on 2 of the 42 shots they tried.

The Penguins have had 895 shots taken against them and have a save percentage of .905. When playing at even strength, the Penguins have given up 62 goals while scoring 77 on offense. Pittsburgh Penguins opponents have recorded 89 power play opportunities (18th in hockey) and have racked up 23 goals in those chances. For the season, they have tallied 37 points and their points % is .617. Pittsburgh has tried 882 shots and has a shooting percentage of 10.5%. In regard to their scoring, the Pittsburgh Penguins have notched 93 goals (8th in the NHL) for the year and have surrendered 85. Pittsburgh has 86 power play chances and they have notched 16 goals out of those attempts, garnering them a percentage of 18.60%.

Protecting the goal for this matchup will be Tristan Jarry. The opposition has scored 210 goals versus Jarry in his pro career and his goals against rate is 2.69. Jarry has taken the ice for 83 games over the course of his NHL career. He has a save percentage of .912 during his 4,688 minutes between the pipes. He has compiled an overall record of 46-28-5 and he was named the starter in 78 games. In his career, Jarry has accumulated 47 quality starts and his quality starts percentage is .603. Jarry has seen 2,391 shot attempts taken against him and has recorded 2,181 total saves.

In their win over Pittsburgh, the Devils PDO was 103 and they earned an oZS percentage of 37.5%. They had 1 power play opportunity in this one and tallied 1 on that try. They had a Fenwick percentage of 45.4% with a Fenwick of 44 and the Penguins earning a 53 Fenwick. The Devils scored 3 goals out of the 35 shots on goal they tried. New Jersey went home with a 49.6% Corsi rating. These Corsi stats speak to the kind of game that New Jersey played and you can say they had a mediocre outing.

The Devils are sitting with 57 goals at even strength and 11 goals (29th in hockey) while on the power play. New Jersey has tried 801 shots (27th in pro hockey) and has a shot percentage of 8.49%, while allowing the other team 852 shots. This season, the New Jersey Devils have earned a total of 68 goals, 24 points, and a points percentage of .444. They have earned 76 power play chances and they have a power play percentage of 14.47%. They have recorded a penalty kill percentage of 70.73% on their oppositions 82 power play tries, and their save percentage is 90.3%. They have permitted 83 goals to be scored by way of 59 goals at even strength and 24 goals while they were shorthanded.

For the opposition you are likely to see Mackenzie Blackwood defending the goal. His opponents are averaging 2.78 goals per contest and he has allowed 224 goals in total. Blackwood's quality start rate is 55.7% and he has qualified for 44 quality starts in his NHL career. He has been a starter 79 games and his ice time sits at 4,834 minutes. Blackwood is the owner of a career record of 38-32-9 and has participated in 85 games. He has a tally of 2,360 stops out of the 2,584 shots attempted, giving him a rate of .913.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (-153)

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