Carolina Hurricanes vs Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Pick & Prediction 12/21/23

Betting on today’s Hurricanes and Penguins game? Catch the action at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA, as the Penguins hosts this showdown at 7:00 ET on BSSO. The Hurricanes are the favorites in this Metropolitan division matchup against Penguins. The over/under for the game is set at 6.5 goals.

CAROLINA HURRICANES VS PITTSBURGH PENGUINS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins +1.5

This game will be played at PPG Paints Arena at 7:00 ET on Thursday, December 21st.

WHY BET THE PITTSBURGH PENGUINS:

With the Hurricanes being favored by 1.5, our NHL analytics models has this one playing out 4-3 in favor of the Hurricanes.
Take the Hurricanes on the moneyline
On the puck line, we like Penguins (+1.5)

Will the Hurricanes Secure A Victory as Road Favorites?

Through 32 games, the Hurricanes have achieved an overall record of 17-12-3. When on the road, Carolina holds a 8-10-0 record, while they are 9-2-3 when playing at home. This record has them sitting 4th in the Eastern Metropolitan division and 7th in the Eastern conference.

Against the puck line, Carolina is 11-21. Their road puck line record so far is 5-13 while sitting 6-8 at home against the puckline. The average goal total for Carolina’s games is sitting at 6.5. The average over/under line for the season is 6.2. The Hurricanes come in with an over/under record of 15-16-1.

Across their three previous road games, Carolina has an puck line mark of 1-2. Their straight up record in these matchups was 2-1 while averaging 3 goals per game.

The Hurricanes come into the game scoring an average of 3.3 goals per game, putting them 6th in the NHL. Regarding shots targeted at the goal per game, they are 1st in the league. In terms of the Hurricanes’ offense during power plays, they are 8th in power play goals and 6th in shorthanded goals.

Carolina’s leading scorer is Sebastian Aho. So far, he has 12 goals which is 50th in the NHL. Aho also comes into the game with 18 assists.

In terms of defense, the Penguins head into the game ranked 17th in goals allowed. On average, opponents are taking 31.2 shots per game against Pittsburgh. So far, they are 1st in shutouts, achieving 4 shutouts.

Goalie Pyotr Kochetkov gets the start and has made 14 starts this season. His record at this point is 7-6, and his save percentage is 0.5567010309278351%.

Is a Home Win Possible for Pittsburgh?

So far this season, the Penguins have an overall record of 14-13-3. Currently, they are 7-6-1 at home and carry a two game home win streak into the game. This record has them sitting 7th in the Eastern Metropolitan division and 13th in the Eastern conference.

Pittsburgh is 12-18 against the puck line this season. On the road, their puck line record sits at 6-10 compared to 6-8 at home. This season, Pittsburgh’s games have an average of 5.7 goals per game. The average over/under number for the season is 6.5. The Penguins come in with an over/under performance of 11-17-2.

In their last three games at home, the Penguins have a straight up record of 1-2 while going 0-3 vs. the spread. The team averaged 1 goals per game in this stretch.

On the offensive side, the Penguins are scoring an 2.9 goals per game this season, ranking 27th in the NHL. When it came to shots on target per game, they are 10th in the league. Coming into the game, the Penguins have 8-7 record when they have more shots on goal than their opponent. When they have fewer shots on goal, they are 6-6.

Pittsburgh’s leading scorer is Sidney Crosby. So far, he has 18 goals which is 6th in the NHL. In addition to his goal scoring, Crosby has 15 assists this season.

Goalie Tristan Jarry gets the start and has made 22 starts this season. His record at this point is 9-11, and his save percentage is 0.9072164948453608%.