The Pittsburgh Penguins (36-28-10) and their high-volume offense host the Nashville Predators (37-28-8) and their suffocating goaltending at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday. Nashville is coming off a 2-1 win over the Bruins on Tuesday.
The Predators committed five penalties in the game, though they held Boston without a power play goal. Cody Glass and Cole Smith each scored once for the Predators. Glass added an assist to lead the team in scoring.
Juuse Saros saved an impressive 35 of 36 shots (.972%) in the win. Pittsburgh fell 7-4 to the Red Wings on Tuesday. Four players found the net for the Penguins. Evgeni Malkin and Rickard Rakell both had two assists to lead the team in scoring. Casey DeSmith only had 18 saves on 24 shots against (.750%) in the loss.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Penguins won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 3-1 victory in February. Jason Zucker, Sidney Crosby, and Bryan Rust were on the scoresheet for Pittsburgh. Mark Jankowski scored Nashville’s only goal. Tristan Jarry got the win, saving 24 of 25 shots (.960%).
FACING OFF
Nashville is averaging 2.75 goals per game for the season, 28th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Penguins team that is allowing 3.27 goals a game (20th).
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has found the net 3.22 times a game on average, 17th in the league, and the Predators are allowing opponents to score 2.95 goals per game (12th).
ittsburgh averages more shots a game (34.6) than most teams in the league, ranking fourth, though the team’s 9.3% shooting percentage is 27th. Nashville has proven up to the task of stopping shots, ranking No. 5 with a team save percentage of .916%.
The Penguins’ 21.79% power play percentage ranks 13th in the league, while the Predators are 27th with a conversion rate of 17.33%. In terms of penalty killing, Nashville has the league’s 11th-ranked PK% at 81.71%, while Pittsburgh is 17th at 78.63%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Roman Josi and Matt Duchene have been the top skaters for the Predators this season with 59 and 56 points. In the net, Saros (29-20-7) is Nashville’s top goaltender.
He has a 2.77 GAA and a .916% save percentage. Crosby leads the Penguins in scoring with 85 points. He has 31 goals and 54 assists in 74 games. Jarry (21-10-6) has the best goals against average for Pittsburgh at 2.98. He has a save percentage of .908%.
HOME AND AWAY
Nashville is 19-14-4 away from Bridgestone Arena this season. Pittsburgh is 20-11-5 at home this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Pittsburgh Penguins (-200)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
