Pittsburgh Penguins vs New Jersey Devils Prediction, 4/9/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Penguins vs New Jersey Devils

Date: Friday, April 9, 2021

Location: Prudential Center in Newark, NJ

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Penguins (-173) Devils (+153)

Prudential Center is the site where Mackenzie Blackwood and the New Jersey Devils (13-18-6) will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins (24-13-2) on Friday. The odds on this contest have the Penguins coming in at -173 and the Devils are at +153. The total has been set at 6.

The Penguins were on the wrong end of the scoreboard with a 8-4 loss to the Rangers in the last game they played. The Penguins had a solid offensive performance in this defeat. In the outing, they earned a goal on 4 of the 45 shots they attempted. They also had 3 power play attempts and were able to notch 1 goal. Pittsburgh garnered 10 minutes in the box in this outing. The Corsi for the Penguins came in at 59 and the Corsi against when this game finished was 29 meaning they had a Corsi percentage of 67.0%. Their Fenwick came in at 45 and the Fenwick Against sat at 24, giving them a Fenwick percentage of 65.2%. They had a tally of 27 face-off wins when at even strength and were beaten on 21 opportunities to gain puck control. Their starts in the offensive zone were rated at 68.1% and they had a PDO of 84.4 for this one.

When talking about their goal scoring prowess, the Pittsburgh Penguins have accumulated 127 goals (7th in the league) so far this year and have given up 110. For the year, they have recorded 50 points and their points percentage is sitting at .641. Pittsburgh skates onto the rink with 113 power play opportunities and they have added 24 goals out of those advantages, giving them a rate of 21.24%. At even strength, the Penguins have conceded 82 goals while scoring 103 of their own. Pittsburgh has taken 1,159 shots and is the owner of a shooting percentage of 11.0%. The Penguins have had 1,160 shots tried against them and hold a save percentage of .905. Pittsburgh Penguins opponents have totaled 118 power play opportunities (15th in the league) and have a total of 28 goals in those chances.

Protecting the goal for this matchup will be Casey DeSmith. From the beginning of his pro career to now, DeSmith has recorded 33 quality starts and his quality starts percentage is .611. He has a save percentage of .917 during his 3,558 mins played. DeSmith has had 1,828 shot attempts taken against him and has accrued 1,676 total saves. The opposition has been able to score 152 goals against DeSmith in his pro career and his goals against average per contest is 2.56. He has accumulated an overall record of 30-20-6 and was named the starter in 54 games. DeSmith has participated in 66 games over the course of his NHL career.

In their last game, New Jersey faced off against the Sabres in an outing where the Devils went home in defeat by a final of 5-3. New Jersey went home with a 64.8% Corsi rating. This Corsi percentage speaks to the kind of game that New Jersey played and you might say they looked run of the mill in this one. They had a Fenwick percentage of 67.2% by way of having a Fenwick of 39 and the Sabres finishing with a 19 Fenwick at even strength. They had a PDO of 83 and their percentage of oZS was 51.9%. The Devils recorded 3 goals out of the 30 shots on goal they pursued. They had 3 power play opportunities in this game and tallied 1 out of those tries.

New Jersey has taken 1,097 shots (25th in the NHL) and has earned a shot percentage of 8.30%, while allowing their opponents 1,168 shots. They have recorded a penalty kill percentage of 72.64% on the other teams 106 power play opportunities, and their save percentage sits at 90.2%. They have a total of 108 power play opportunities and they have accumulated a power play rate of 12.96%. The Devils are sitting with 77 goals at even strength and 14 goals (30th in hockey) while having more men on the ice. They have allowed 114 goals to be scored by of a combination of 85 goals at even strength and 29 goals while they were shorthanded. So far this year, the New Jersey Devils have tallied 91 goals, 32 points, and a points percentage of .432.

Across the rink you are going to see Mackenzie Blackwood patrolling the crease. He has a tally of 2,579 stops out of 2,822 shots attempted against him, which gives him a save percentage of .914. Blackwood is the owner of a career mark of 41-34-11 and has been in goal for 92 contests. He got the starting nod in 86 games and has played for a total of 5,262 minutes. Blackwood's quality start rate is 55.8% and he has earned 48 quality starting assignments in his pro career. Opponents are averaging 2.77 goals per game and he has relinquished 243 goals overall.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (-173)

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