Face-off: 2200 ET, 04/12/2021
Venue: Rogers Arena
Pittsburgh will be looking to make it third time lucky on their Canadian road trip when visiting a suddenly resurgent Vancouver.
The Penguins only went down in overtime at Calgary and were undone by breakaways in Edmonton but played well enough on both occasions.
This should be an easier assignment and 2.10 for an away win in regular time heads up our Vancouver Canucks vs Pittsburgh Penguins predictions.
The Penguins prevailed 4-1 when these teams clashed in Pittsburgh late on last month and can confirm that superiority.
Vancouver Canucks Odds
Admittedly, Vancouver are coming off back-to-back wins which have given this season’s record a welcome boost to 8-14-2.
The Canucks followed up a 2-1 victory in Montreal by thumping Ottawa 6-2 on the road, with six different scorers hitting the net versus the Sens.
Quinn Hughes had four assists and captain Bo Horvat beamed: “We were due one of those nights for a long time. I think we’ve been playing a lot of good hockey.
“For us to kind of have a night like that where a lot of guys get on the scoresheet definitely gives us confidence.
“But at the same time, we can’t get complacent with that too and get comfortable and think that that’s going to happen every night.”
Even so, Pittsburgh generally have a much meaner defence and Vancouver may find it hard to create chances here.
Looking at the NHL odds for this contest, we like 3.25 for the Penguins to prevail and under 5.5 goals.
Pittsburgh Penguins Odds
Pittsburgh were made to pay for costly turnovers when going down 5-2 to the Oilers at Rogers Place.
Goaltender Tristan Jarry has been in outstanding form this term but could do little to stop Edmonton’s red-hot strike duo Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
However, it must be noted the Penguins outshot their opponents 26-12 during the first two periods, at which point the score was 2-2.
“We were very effective for a good part of the game,” head coach Mike Sullivan insisted.
“I thought for the first two periods we did a great job with our energy and trying to dictate the terms out there.
“We could have made better decisions with the puck and not feed their transition game.”
This match-up looks more conducive to Pittsburgh controlling possession and wearing down the opposition, though.
That is what they do best and 7.25 for an away win by two goals is added to our NHL predictions.
Additional stats
Last result:
Ottawa 2-6 VANCOUVER
Edmonton 5-2 PITTSBURGH
Head-to-head: Pittsburgh 4-1 Vancouver, Vancouver 4-1 Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh 8-6 Vancouver, Vancouver 0-5 Pittsburgh
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