Penguins vs. Coyotes Odds
| Penguins Odds | -154 |
| Coyotes Odds | +128 |
| Over / Under | 6.5 +110o / -134u |
Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins will wrap up a two-game trip to the desert with a matchup against the Arizona Coyotes. Still on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, the Penguins are coming off a 3-2 loss against Vegas on Saturday night, but are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games.
The Coyotes are wrapping up a two-game home stand before heading across the country to Florida later this week. In their last game Saturday, they took down the Nashville Predators, also by a 3-2 tally.
With both Tristan Jarry and Connor Ingram stopping nearly every puck they face these days, expect this to be a tight, low-scoring contest. Let's explain why bettors should target the total in our Penguins vs. Coyotes preview and prediction.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins are in a light part of their schedule: Their only game in the last week was the loss to Vegas. That was the first game in the last five in which Pittsburgh failed to pick up at least a point.
This group is a bit confounding this season. They're a strong puck-possession team — ranked sixth with 52.66% of expected goals at 5-on-5 for the season, and an even better 53.8% over the last 10 games. Their goaltending is solid, with Jarry up to 9.6 goals saved above expected and Alex Nedeljkovic at 3.3. And Sidney Crosby is having an MVP-level season at age 36, tied for eighth in the league with 26 goals, tied for sixth in plus-minus among forwards at plus-18 and in the top 20 with 47 points.
But none of that is adding up to wins. Beyond Jake Guentzel, Evgeni Malkin and defensive powerhouses Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang, Pittsburgh isn't getting enough depth scoring. The Penguins are in the bottom half of the league with an average of three goals per game. And while that horrible power-play drought from earlier in the season was finally snapped, the Penguins are now back to four games without a man-advantage goal.
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Arizona Coyotes
In the standings, the Coyotes are in a similar position to the Penguins, hovering just outside the playoff picture.
Arizona's underlying numbers aren't as strong, although a 51.04% expected goals share over the last 10 games is pretty solid. The Coyotes also have a significant home-ice advantage, with a record of 14-9-0 at Mullett Arena. And they're enjoying a standout season from Ingram, who's up to third in the league with 14.4 goals saved above expected.
Like many teams in their section of the standings, the Coyotes tend to run hot and cold. Lately, they've been lukewarm, returning home from a 1-1-1 road trip to beat the Nashville Predators 3-2 on Saturday.
Special teams has been a bit of a struggle recently. Arizona has given up a goal on the penalty kill in three straight games while simultaneously going 0-for-8 on its own power plays.
On the injury front, the Coyotes' forward depth is thin at the moment with centers Travis Boyd and Barrett Hayton on the sidelines, and Nick Schmaltz currently listed as day-to-day. Coach André Tourigny has been favoring an 11-and-7 lineup since Schmaltz went down two games ago.
Penguins vs. Coyotes
Betting Pick & Prediction
The visitors carry a lot more star power, but these two teams share the same type of hard-working DNA that should make this a tight, grind-it-out affair.
Back in December, Jarry stood tall to give the Penguins a 4-2 win on home ice against the Coyotes despite being outshot 43-21. Both sides went 2-for-5 with the man advantage in that game, so with both power plays currently struggling, Monday's game could see even less offense.
Anticipating a low-scoring affair, bet the total to go under 6.5.
Pick: Under 6.5 (-130; Bet to -140)
