New York Islanders at Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Picks & Predictions 12/7/2017

Thursday, December 7, 2017

PPG Paints Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The New York Islanders head to PPG Paints Arena to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, December 7, 2017. The opening line for this contest has the Islanders at +131 and the Penguins at -145.

New York has a record of 16-9-2 this year and away from home they have a record of 8-8-0. They are 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. They have tallied 101 goals and surrendered 92 goals for a point differential of +9. For the year they have an ATS mark of 16-11-0 and an over/under record of 18-8-0. Pittsburgh has a record of 15-11-3 including 9-3-1 on home ice this year. They are 5th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 86 goals and have given up 95 for a goal differential of -9. Their record against the spread is 15-14-0 while their over/under mark is 16-12-0.

Valuable New York Islanders Betting Trends

The New York Islanders are 16-11-0 straight up this year

The New York Islanders are 18-8-0 against the over/under this season

Important Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 15-14-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 16-12-0 against the over/under this season

Key New York Islanders Injuries

12/03/17 C Casey Cizikas Lower Body IR (11/25)
12/03/17 LW Shane Prince Ankle IR (10/06)
11/08/17 LW Nikolay Kulemin Upper Body IR (11/06)

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

11/28/17 GO Matt Murray Lower Body IR (11/27)

Player Spotlight

Anders Lee has scored 28 total points this year for the Islanders. He has 16 goals this season with 64 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 25%. He has a total of 12 assists on the year and averages 17 minutes played per contest. Josh Bailey averages 17.8 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 11% by tallying 5 goals on 44 attempts. He has 26 assists, giving him a total of 31 points on the year. Thomas Greiss has 8 wins and 3 losses this season in goal for the Islanders. He has 456 shots against him and he's surrendered 50 goals. He's made 406 stops for a save percentage of 89%.

Player Spotlight

Sidney Crosby has 29 total points this season for the Penguins. He has 12 goals this year with 95 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He has a total of 17 assists on the year and averages 20.7 minutes played per contest. Phil Kessel averages 18.3 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 13 goals on 109 attempts. He has 21 assists, giving him a total of 34 points on the year. Tristan Jarry has 4 wins and 2 losses this season in net for the Penguins. He has 203 shots against him and he's given up 15 goals. He's made 188 saves for a save percentage of 93%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Islanders have 34 total points this year, which is 10th in the NHL. They've scored 101 goals while giving up 92 scores, which has them ranked 1st and 6th respectively. They have had 92 power play chances and scored 20 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 22%. That is 7th in the league. The Islanders have given up 88 power play opportunities and surrendered 22 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 75%, ranking them 30th when short-handed. They average 31 shots per contest and as a team shoot 11.97% for the year. They allow 33 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 24th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins are 12th in the league with a total of 33 points this season. They have 28 power play goals on 109 chances for a percentage of 26%. That is 4th in the NHL. They've given up 113 power play opportunities and surrendered 24 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, ranking 20th overall. As a team, the Penguins are 11th with a total of 86 goals scored while they've given up 95 goals this season, ranking 3rd in goals against. They average 35 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.40%. As a unit they give up 32 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 26th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

New York has a Corsi percentage of 48.9% as they've tried 1,544 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,611 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 21st in Corsi percentage. They are 21st in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 48.7% as they have 1,146 shots while they've given up 1,207 attempts on defense. The Islanders start possessions in the offensive zone 49% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 51% for the year. That puts them 23rd and 10th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 752 face-off wins as opposed to 845 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.1%. That is 28th overall in the NHL. On defense New York has 528 hits and they've blocked 404 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 15th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Penguins start possessions in the offensive zone 53% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 47% for the year. That ranks them 10th and 24th respectively in the NHL. They have 935 face-off wins as opposed to 925 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.3%. That is 20th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 680 hits and they've blocked 441 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 3rd in blocked shots. Pittsburgh is ranked 13th in Corsi percentage with 51.3% as they've tried 1,768 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,680 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 5th in the NHL at 52.5%, as they have 1,370 shots while they've given up 1,239 attempts on defense.

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

Josh's Pick: Take New York +131

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