Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New Jersey Devils Prediction, Preview, and Odds
A battle between Metropolitan Division foes takes place on Tuesday night with the Pittsburgh Penguins (30-28-9) and the New Jersey Devils (32-32-4) face off inside the Prudential Center. The Penguins are sixth in the division and are coming off a 6-3 home win over the Detroit Red Wings while the Devils are seventh and on a cold stretch after a 3-1 road loss against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Steel City Showdown
The Pittsburgh Penguins are trying to get into the postseason and they need a hot end of the season as they sit with a 30-28-9 record thus far. After picking up a 6-3 home victory against the Red Wings, the team continues to pick up points in this part of the season. The team has been led by Sidney Crosby, who has 33 goals and 68 points on the year heading into this game. With Sid the Kid leading the way, they need to score a bit more as they are averaging 2.91 goals per game as a team. A big reason why is the fact the team has a 14.9 power play percentage right now. With the team stepping up and making sure they are in games at this point of the season, they should be in a good position.
With injuries to Matt Nieto and Jansen Harkins keeping them out for this game, they are going to need to depend on other players to control how this game goes for the Penguins. Their defense as a whole has been good with 2.94 goals allowed per game and have Tristan Jarry inside the net here. He has been playing decently well with a 19-22-5 record with a .906 save percentage and 2.79 goals allowed per game. The defense has done well in terms of killing penalties with an 81.6 percentage and that helps the team do well at these points of the year.
The team has been trending in the right direction with two wins in their last three games so they should be in a good spot on the road here.
Devils' Dilemma
The New Jersey Devils, with a stagnant record of 32-32-4, have not been playing up to par with four losses in their last five games and only two points to show for it. Their recent game saw them loss on the road against the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1 but they are back at home and hoping familiar terrain will help them get back in the win column. The offense has done well with 3.24 goals per game and is scoring on 21.6 percent of their power play. With Jesper Bratt posting 65 points and Tyler Toffoli scoring 26 goals, this offense is not an issue for the Devils.
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 17, 2024
Where New Jersey has to improve is on the defensive side of the ice as they are allowing 3.46 goals per game. They have been doing well when down a man as they have a 79.7 penalty kill percentage as a team so it’s getting stops when the game is 5v5. Jake Allen is going to be in the net for the home team but has not done well as he is giving up 3.51 goals and a .897 save percentage on the year.
With injuries to significant pieces of this team like Dougie Hamilton and Cal Foote, among others, the Devils have been struggling. However, the team is running out of time to flip the switch if they want to make the postseason.
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Full-Game Side Bet
Rating:
The New Jersey Devils have been struggling as of late and that makes things a bit tougher to back them here. Pittsburgh’s offense has been doing well with 6+ goals in two of their previous three games and having their starting goaltender between the pipes. Expect the Pittsburgh Penguins to dominate here on the road and they need to figure out how to continue adding points as they fight for an Eastern Conference Wild Card playoff spot.
Prediction: Pittsburgh Penguins +115
Full-Game Total Pick
Rating:
The offenses have been doing well as we have discussed as both teams are in the top 10 in terms of power play percentage. Even with Tristan Jarry and Jake Allen between the pipes, these offenses should be able to put pressure on the net and make these goaltenders make plays. The defenses have been giving up crooked numbers lately so take the over in this game as the better option.
Prediction: OVER 6.5
From an early age, Justin knew he would be involved with sports in some way shape, or form. Justin played baseball in high school as well as basketball. He also coached basketball during summer vacations for local recreational organizations throughout high school. In college, he began writing for the school newspaper, both news articles as well as sports but soon discovered sports was his vocation. For the last seven years, he has written sports editorials for both hard copy newspapers as well as online sites and has now joined our team here at StatSalt. He has a deep passion for breaking down the games and also being on them. Be sure and follow along with Justin on a daily basis as he will point you in the right way.
