Free NHL Hockey Prediction: Devils vs Penguins NHL Odds
Looking for New Jersey Devils vs. Pittsburgh Penguins free hockey plays & NHL Odds? NHL betting sees the Devils taking on the Penguins on Friday March 17th at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NHL Hockey matchups all season long so stay tuned for more FREE daily NHL hockey predictions.
(25-31-12) New Jersey Devils vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (43-16-9)
Date: Friday March 17th
Time: 4:00 PM
Venue: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA
NHL Hockey Moneyline Odds: Penguins -275
NHL Hockey Puck Line Odds:
NHL Betting Total: 5.5
Live NHL Odds
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The Penguins are in a race for the Metro Division lead with both the Washington Capitals and the Columbus Blue Jackets, currently trailing the Caps by two points with a game at hand.
Meanwhile, the Devils sit at the bottom of that division with 62 points and some large holes in the lineup to fill before next season.
New Jersey Devils
It could be argued that the biggest impact for the Devils this year hasn’t been the addition of Taylor Hall, but rather the loss of Adam Larsson. Hall is tied for the team lead in points with linemate, Kyle Palmieri, with 44 points apiece.
He is obviously their star player and doesn’t have a lot of help around him, but we’re used to Hall producing closer to a point per game pace.
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Could the Devils be looking to add one of his former linemates from Edmonton, in either Jordan Eberle or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, this off-season?
Both have been the subject of trade rumors and the Devils could definitely use some more firepower, as they currently rank 29th in goals per game at 2.2.
The loss of Adam Larsson has certainly hurt their defense corps, and the team currently sits 20th overall in goal against at 2.9 on average per game.
Corey Schneider has had an off-year with a 2.72 GAA and a .911 SV%, but one has to wonder how much of losing a rearguard like Larsson plays into those numbers.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh looks every bit the part of a Stanley Cup contender, especially when you consider they’ve recently welcomed Conor Sheary back to the lineup and that Kris Letang is set to return for the stretch run.
Their offense currently ranks as the best in the league, scoring at a clip of 3.5 goals per game. To nobody’s surprise, Sidney Crosby sits stop the Pens’ stat sheet with 35 goals and 74 points, which places him tied for the league-lead in goals and 3rd in points.
He’s followed closely by fellow superstar, Evgeni Malkin, who has 33 goals and 72 points in one less game played. Phil Kessel rounds out the trio of top scorers with 21 goals and 61 points of his own.
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Justin Schultz has performed admirably this season with 46 points from the backend, looking like a key re-signing this past summer. Kris Letang, once healthy, will form a deadly 1-2 punch from the blueline, as he has 34 points in 41 games before missing time due to injury.
Matt Murray has continued his stellar play after a great Stanley Cup run last spring. Murray has a 2.33 GAA and a .925 SV% with 26 wins this year, rendering Marc-Andre Fleury expendable for this coming summer’s expansion draft.
NHL Betting Trends:
- New Jersey has a minus-44 goal differential on the year
- New Jersey is 12-18-6 on the road
- New Jersey is 2-4 in February
- Pittsburgh’s top scoring defenseman, Justin Schultz, has more points than any Devils’ player
- Pittsburgh is 7-2-1 in their last 10 games
- Pittsburgh is 27-4-3 at home this year
Free New Jersey Devils vs Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Hockey Prediction:
This should be a cakewalk for the Penguins, who are ahead of the Devils by 23 points on the year and have a plus-49 goal differential, compared to the minus-44 of New Jersey.
4* Free NHL Betting Pick: Pittsburgh -1.5
Moreover, Pittsburgh has just four regulation losses at home and New Jersey has a winning percentage of .333 on the road.
NHL Free Score Prediction: New Jersey 1 – Pittsburgh 4
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