Pittsburgh Penguins vs New Jersey Devils 12/30/22 NHL Picks, Predictions, Odds
New Jersey Devils (22-11-2) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (19-10-6)
December 30, 2022 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Pittsburgh Penguins -159 / New Jersey Devils +126; Over/Under: +6.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins meet Friday in NHL action at the PPG Paints Arena. The New Jersey Devils have lost 8 of their last 9 games. The Pittsburgh Penguins have lost 4 of their last 5 games.
The New Jersey Devils are averaging 3.3 goals per game and are scoring on 19.8 percent of their power play opportunities. Jack Hughes leads New Jersey with 18 goals, Jesper Bratt has 21 assists and Dougie Hamilton has 120 shots on goal. Defensively, the New Jersey Devils are allowing 2.6 goals per game and are killing 81.3 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Vitek Vanecek has allowed 48 goals on 533 shots faced, and Mackenzie Blackwood has allowed 24 goals on 203 shots.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are averaging 3.4 goals per game and are scoring on 24.3 percent of their power play opportunities. Sidney Crosby leads Pittsburgh with 19 goals, Evgeni Malkin has 22 assists, and Rickard Rakell has 105 shots on goal. Defensively, the Pittsburgh Penguins are allowing 3 goals per game and are killing 83.9 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Tristan Jarry has allowed 64 goals on 781 shots faced, and Casey DeSmith has given up 36 goals on 408 shots.
The Devils are 12-2 in their last 14 road games and 1-8 in their last 9 overall. The Penguins are 6-2 in their last 8 home games and 1-4 in their last 5 overall. The under is 15-5-1 in Devils last 21 overall. The under is 5-2-3 in Penguins last 10 overall. The Devils are 2-7 in the last 9 meetings. The road team is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings. The favorite is 7-2 in the last 9 meetings.
The New Jersey Devils have had great success on the road this season, but they’re in such bad shape right now that I can’t get behind them with confidence. The Pittsburgh Penguins have been rough this week, but I’d assume they can bounce back, especially on their home ice, where they’ve been one of the better teams in the league over the years. The Penguins should win this game. I’ll lay the reasonable juice.
