Pittsburgh Penguins vs Washington Capitals Prediction, 4/29/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Penguins vs Washington Capitals

Date: Thursday, April 29, 2021

Location: Capital One Arena in Washington, DC

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Penguins (-105) Capitals (-115)

Vitek Vanecek and the Washington Capitals (32-13-4) play the Pittsburgh Penguins (32-15-3) at Capital One Arena on Thursday. The Penguins open this game at -105 while the Capitals are coming in at -115. The O/U is set at 5.5.

The Penguins had a rough game after their 3-1 defeat against the Bruins in their last outing. The offensive zone starts for them were rated at 59.0% and their PDO was 94.9 for this game. They had 23 face-off wins when at even strength and lost on 29 opportunities to gain puck control. Their Fenwick came in at 24 and the Fenwick against finished at 38, giving them a Fenwick rate of 38.7%. The Corsi for the Penguins was 39 and the Corsi against when this game finished was 45 which had their Corsi percentage coming in at 46.4%. Pittsburgh garnered 11 mins in the box in this contest. In addition, they had 3 power play opportunities but didn't get a goal. The Penguins offense left a lot to be desired in the defeat. While out there on the ice, they were able to notch a goal on 1 of the 26 shots they tried.

When discussing their scoring capabilities, the Pittsburgh Penguins have racked up 167 goals (2nd in the league) on the season and have given up 137. For the year, they have recorded 67 points and their points percentage sits at .670. Pittsburgh skates onto the rink with 137 power play opportunities and they have scored 31 goals out of those attempts, garnering them a percentage of 22.63%. At even strength, the Penguins have surrendered 105 goals while notching 136 of their own. Pittsburgh has tried 1,498 shots and has a shooting percentage of 11.2%. The Penguins have had 1,488 shots tried against them and have a save percentage of .908. Pittsburgh Penguins opponents have amassed 144 power play opportunities (18th in the NHL) and have racked up 32 goals in those attempts.

Patrolling the crease for the game will be Tristan Jarry. Opponents have scored 238 goals versus Jarry in his pro career and his goals against average is 2.65. Jarry has been involved in 96 games over the course of his pro hockey career. His save percentage is .913 for his 5,393 mins played. He has amassed a record of 55-29-7 and he started in 91 games. From the beginning of his pro career to now, Jarry is sitting with 56 quality starts and his quality starts percentage is .615. Jarry has seen 2,735 shots against him and has gathered 2,497 total saves.

Their last time out, Washington played the Islanders in a matchup where the Capitals got the victory by a score of 1-0. Washington earned a 66.0% Corsi rate. This Corsi rating tells us the kind of game Washington had and we'd say it was a below average outing in all. They had a Fenwick percentage of 67.1% by accumulating a Fenwick of 47 and the Islanders having racked up a 23 Fenwick at even strength. Their PDO at even strength was 103 and they finished the game with an oZS percentage of 48.6%. The Capitals notched 1 goal out of the 33 shots on goal they took. They had 2 power play attempts in this one but were not able to net one.

The Capitals have scored 133 goals at even strength and 35 goals (8th in hockey) while on the power play. Washington has attempted 1,409 shots (22nd in the NHL) and has accumulated a shooting percentage of 11.92%, while allowing the opposition 1,421 shots. Over the course of the season, the Washington Capitals have earned a total of 168 goals, 68 points, in addition to a points percentage of .694. They have recorded 133 chances on the power play and they have a power play rate of 26.32%. They have accumulated a penalty kill percentage of 82.88% on the other teams 146 power play tries, and their save percentage is 90.0%. They have permitted 142 goals to be scored by way of 117 goals at even strength and 25 goals while they were shorthanded.

For the opposition you are likely to see Vitek Vanecek in the crease. Vanecek has a career record of 18-9-3 and has played in 32 games. Vanecek's quality start percentage comes in at 54.8% and he has 17 quality starts in his professional career. He has compiled 815 stops out of 896 shots attempted, which gives him a percentage of .910. His opposition is averaging 2.68 goals per contest and he has surrendered 81 goals altogether. He got the starting nod in 31 games and has played 1,816 minutes.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (-105)

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