In their third head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the New Jersey Devils and the Pittsburgh Penguins take the ice at PPG Paints Arena in a divisional matchup. TVA Sports will broadcast the matchup, which gets going at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, March 23.
New Jersey Devils at Pittsburgh Penguins Odds
New Jersey (+170) is playing the role of underdog to Pittsburgh (-200), and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals (-110 for the over, -110 for the under).
Producing 0.9 units for moneyline bettors, the Penguins are 42-32 straight up (SU) overall thus far. That winning percentage, ranked 2nd in the Metropolitan Division in this young season, is fairly close to the 50-32 record the team produced during the 2016-17 season campaign. Of the team’s 74 games this season, 41 have gone over the total, while 31 have gone under and just two have pushed. This season, the team is 27-9 SU at home.
Pittsburgh enters the matchup with the best power-play unit in the NHL, as it has scored on 26.2 percent of their extra-man chances this season. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 15th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.6 percent of all penalties.
Pittsburgh, as a collective unit, has been penalized 4.0 times per game overall this season, and 3.0 per game over its last five matchups at home. The team has had to stave off opponent power plays for just 8.4 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, overall.
Averaging 25.9 saves per game with a .909 save percentage, Matt Murray (25 wins, 17 losses, and two OT losses) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Penguins this year. If head coach Mike Sullivan chooses to give him the evening off, however, the Pens could go with Tristan Jarry (15-11-11 record, .908 save percentage, 2.77 goals against average).
The Pens will continue to look for offensive production from Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel. Malkin (91 points) has tallied 41 goals and 50 assists and has recorded multiple points on 24 separate occasions this year. Kessel has 29 goals and 53 assists to his name and has notched a point in 51 contests.
On the other side of the rink, New Jersey is 37-36 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 7.0 units this year. A total of 36 of its matches have gone over the total, while 35 have gone under and just two have pushed. As the visiting team, New Jersey is 19-19 SU.
New Jersey has converted on 20.2 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 12th overall and it’s successfully killed off 81.9 percent of all penalties.
New Jersey’s skaters have been penalized 3.8 times per game in total this season, and 2.9 per game over their past ten contests. The team’s been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 6.1 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Cory Schneider (.909 save percentage and 2.88 goals against average) has been the main option in goal for New Jersey. Schneider is averaging 28.0 saves per game and owns an 18-21-6 record.
Taylor Hall (32 goals, 46 assists) will pace the offensive attack for the visiting Devils.
New Jersey Devils at Pittsburgh Penguins Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Penguins, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Trends
The total has gone over in three of Pittsburgh’s last five outings.
New Jersey has managed 25.6 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Pittsburgh is averaging 37.8 shots per game over its last five at home.
Power-play chances could have a critical role in tonight’s game. The Devils are 10-20 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 18-28 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Penguins are 20-11 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 26-20 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
New Jersey is 5-4 in games decided by a shootout this season while Pittsburgh is 2-2 in shootouts.
Pittsburgh has averaged 6.8 takeaways per game over its last five home games, right in line with its season average of 7.0 takeaways per game (ranked 19th).
New Jersey is ranked 10th in the league with 8.0 takeaways per game. That figure has trended lower recently, however, as the team has forced 7.2 takeaways over its last 10 games and 6.6 takeaways over its last five.
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