Goalies Should Shine In Penguins Vs. Coyotes

Penguins vs. Coyotes, 9:00 ET

This was one of the worst gambling weekends I've ever had. When you bet a ton of different sports, you expect to lose some and win some. This weekend, I was losing in basically all of them. That's a hard pill to swallow, but one you have to somewhat expect as a gambler. Hockey has been the worst of all my sports this season, but I want to try and dig myself out of the hole I'm in by the end of the regular season. Tonight, the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Arizona Coyotes.

The Penguins come into the game sitting in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division with a 21-16-6 record. As usual, the team is led by Sidney Crosby who is leading the team in goals and points. He remains a constant for the team and keeps them at least relevant, even if they don't always look like they will be playoff contenders. The Penguins are surprisingly solid on defense and do a respectable job of keeping almost every loss close. 50% of their losses were by two goals or more. However, over 70% of their wins have come by two or more goals this season. We are probably, once again, looking at Tristan Jarry in the net for the Penguins. He's been strong this season with a 12-13-4 record and just 2.5 goals allowed per game. He is also tied for 13th in the league with a .915 save percentage. Jarry also played against the Coyotes once before this season and saved 19 of 21 shot attempts. The Penguins won that game 4-2.

TEMPE, ARIZONA - JANUARY 07: Logan Cooley #92 of the Arizona Coyotes gets ready to take a face off against the Winnipeg Jets at Mullett Arena on January 07, 2024 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images)

For the Coyotes, this has to be a welcome year of rejuvenation. Last season, they ended with a 28-40-14 record. This year they already have 22 victories and are 22-19-3 overall. What is different for them this season? I'm not quite sure that I can pinpoint that exactly. The Coyotes have scored 2.95 goals per game, and they've allowed 2.96 goals against per game. I suppose it is no surprise that when you look at the team they are .500 technically if you look at just wins and losses. The Coyotes have allowed 31.3 shots against this season, which is four more shots than they take per game. To have the goals and goals against that close, despite the shot disparity is impressive. It is unconfirmed at this point, but the Coyotes are expected to have Connor Ingram once again mind the pipe for them. He's been very good this season with 2.49 goals against per game, good for 11th in the league. He also has a .919 save percentage, which sits at seventh in the league this year. He was in the net the first time the Coyotes played the Penguins. That game was on the road and this time he gets to play at home, where he (and the team) has been better.

The game should be fairly low scoring with the Penguins defense and Ingram tending net for the Coyotes. It isn't exactly easy to bet on either of these teams because they aren't exactly great teams. However, that means it could be a tight game and one that sees them both struggle to score. I'll back the under 6.5 in this game and hope we don't get hit with a late empty netter and the goalies are great in this one.

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