PPG Paints Arena is playing host to an intriguing showdown as the Pittsburgh Penguins square off against the visiting Nashville Predators. It’s the last time that these two clubs will meet in the regular season. The match gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, March 29, and you can catch this East-West matchup live on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh.
Nashville Predators vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Odds
Nashville (+120) is currently the underdog to Pittsburgh (-140) and the oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. If bettors want to wager on this matchup’s total, they’ll be looking at odds of -105 for the over and -115 on the under.
Nashville is 43-34 straight up (SU) and has lost 8.6 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 77 regular season contests, 43 of its games have gone under the total, while 31 have gone over and just three have pushed. As the road team this season, the Preds are 20-19 SU.
Nashville has converted on just 13.1 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s ranked 31st in the NHL. Having said that, it has the eighth-best penalty kill in the league, and the team’s successfully killed off 81.8 percent of all penalties.
Nashville, as a collective unit, has been sent to the penalty box 3.7 times per game overall during the 2018-19 season, 3.8 per game over its last five contests total, and 3.8 per game over its last five road outings. The team has had to kill penalties just 7.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Sporting a .915 save percentage and 25.4 saves per game, Pekka Rinne (27-25-5) has been the primary option in goal for Nashville this year. If it decides to give him a rest, however, head coach Peter Laviolette may go with Juuse Saros (17-13-2 record, .918 save percentage, 2.53 goals against average).
Ryan Johansen and Roman Josi will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Predators. Johansen (61 points) is up to 12 goals and 49 assists, and has recorded multiple points 16 times. Josi has 15 goals and 40 assists to his name (and has notched a point in 40 games).
On the other bench, Pittsburgh is 42-35 straight up (SU) and has lost 9.8 units for moneyline bettors this year. 37 of its matches have gone under the total, while 34 have gone over and just six have pushed. It’s 21-16 SU at home this year.
Pittsburgh has converted on 25.4 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s good enough for fifth-best in the league. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 13th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.9 percent of all penalties.
Pittsburgh players have been penalized 3.4 times per game this season, 3.4 per game over their past five match ups total, and 3.6 per game over their last five at home. The team’s been forced to kill penalties just 7.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Matt Murray (29.4 saves per game) has been the top option in goal for Pittsburgh. Murray has 27 wins, 18 losses, and five OT losses to his credit and has registered a .919 save percentage and 2.72 goals against average this year.
The Pens will be led on offense by Sidney Crosby (33 goals, 61 assists).
Nashville Predators at Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Penguins, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- Two of Pittsburgh’s last ten games have gone to a shootout. The team is 1-1 in those games and 2-3 overall in shootouts this year.
- The total has gone under in four of Pittsburgh’s last five games.
- Nashville has managed 29.8 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Pittsburgh has been attempting 36.2 shots per game over its last five home outings.
- Pittsburgh has allowed 3.0 goals per game overall this season, but has allowed just 1.7 per match up over its three-game win streak.
- Over Pittsburgh’s last ten outings, six of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 4-2 in those games).
- The Penguins this season have dished out the second-most hits per game in the NHL (28.7), but that average has jumped up to 35.0 over their past five games as the home team.
