In their last head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Anaheim Ducks meet at the Honda Center. AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh will showcase this East-West matchup, which gets underway at 10 p.m. ET on Friday, February 28.
Pittsburgh Penguins at Anaheim Ducks Odds
Pittsburgh (-170) is being tabbed as the favorite over Anaheim (+150), and oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at an even 6 goals. The line for betting that total stands at -105 money on the over and -115 on the under at BetMGM Sportsbook.
Pittsburgh is 37-25 straight up (SU) and has earned 4.7 units for moneyline bettors this season. 31 of its outings have gone under the total, while 29 have gone over and just two have pushed. The Pens are 15-15 SU on the road in 2019-20.
Pittsburgh has converted on 20.8 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked 14th overall, and the team’s successfully killed off 81.4 percent of its penalties.
Pittsburgh, as a collective unit, has been sent to the penalty box just 3.3 times per game overall this season, 3.6 per game over its past five outings total, and 3.6 per game over its last five games as the visiting team. The team’s had to stave off opponent power plays just 7.3 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
With a .927 save percentage and 27.4 saves per game, Tristan Jarry (20-11-1) has been the primary option in goal for Pittsburgh this year. If it decides to rest him, however, the team may turn to Matt Murray (18-15-5 record, .901 save percentage, 2.84 goals against average).
Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust will both look to continue their strong seasons for the visiting Penguins. Malkin (63 points) has tallied 21 goals and 42 assists, and has recorded two or more points in 19 different games. Rust has 24 goals and 26 assists to his nameand has notched a point in 30 games.
Over on the other bench, Anaheim is 25-38 straight up (SU) and has lost 12.2 units for moneyline bettors this year. 34 of its contests have gone over the total, while 28 have gone under and just one has pushed. It’s 13-17 SU at home this season.
Anaheim has converted on just 14.7 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s ranked 31st in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 25th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 77.5 percent of all opponent power plays.
The Ducks have been penalized 3.9 times per game this season, and 2.0 per game over their last five at home. The team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 7.7 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
John Gibson (27.6 saves per game) has been the primary netminder in goal for Anaheim. Gibson has 18 wins, 29 losses, and five OT losses to his credit and has registered a poor .903 save percentage and 3.01 goals against average this year.
The home team will be led on offense by Ryan Getzlaf (12 goals, 27 assists) and Adam Henrique (24 goals, 15 assists).
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Anaheim Ducks Betting Picks
Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Penguins, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
For both of these clubs, the total has gone over in three of their past five matches.
Pittsburgh’s attempted 32.1 shots per game overall this season (ranked 11th in the NHL), and 29.8 in its last five road outings.
Penalties and power plays could prove to be critical tonight. The Penguins are 17-11 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 26-16 when they’re in the box for fewer than 10 penalty minutes, total. The Ducks are 6-14 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 14-21 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
Anaheim is 5-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Pittsburgh is 3-0 in shootouts.
Anaheim is ranked 29th overall this season with 6.3 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended down, however, as the team has forced 4.9 takeaways over its last 10 games and 4.4 takeaways over its last five.
Pittsburgh has scored 3.3 goals per game this season, but is averaging 1.5 goals per match up over its last four games (0-4 SU over that span).
Pittsburgh skaters have created 5.8 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 7.5 takeaways per game (ranked 17th in the league).
Pittsburgh could hold an advantage if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s an impressive 16-9 in one-goal games, while Anaheim is 12-17 in such games.