Two teams that’ve positioned themselves squarely in playoff contention, the Nashville Predators and the Vegas Golden Knights take the ice at T-Mobile Arena. This Western Conference matchup gets started at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 16 and it’ll be televised live on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain.
Nashville Predators at Vegas Golden Knights Odds
Vegas (-125) is tabbed as the favorite over Nashville (+105) and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals (-120 over, +100 under).
Nashville is 34-26 straight up (SU) and has lost 7.0 units for moneyline bettors this year. 31 of its games have gone under the total, while 26 have gone over and just three have pushed. This 2018-19 Predators team is 15-14 SU on the road.
Nashville has converted on just 13.4 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that places them in the bottom- overall among NHL teams. Its penalty kill is ranked 12th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 81.6 percent of all penalties.
Nashville, as a collective unit, has been penalized 3.7 times per game during the 2018-19 season, and 5.6 per game over its last five on the road. The team has had to kill penalties just 7.8 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Averaging 25.1 saves per game with a .915 save percentage, Pekka Rinne (21-20-4) has been the primary option in goal for Nashville this year. If it chooses to give him a rest, however, Nashville might turn to Juuse Saros (14-10-2), who has a .913 save percentage and 2.59 goals against average this year.
Ryan Johansen and Roman Josi will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Predators. Johansen (53 points) has tallied 11 goals and 42 assists, and has recorded two or more points 15 times. Josi has 11 goals and 35 assists to his creditand has logged a point in 33 games.
On the other bench, Vegas is 31-28 straight up (SU) and has lost 8.2 units for moneyline bettors this year. 28 of its outings have gone under the total, while 27 have gone over and just four have pushed. This season, the team’s 16-12 SU at home.
Vegas has converted on 18.3 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked seventh overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.6 percent of all penalties.
The Golden Knights have been penalized only 3.2 times per game this season, and 4.2 per game over their last five games. The team has had to stave off opponent power plays just 6.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Marc-Andre Fleury has stopped 25.5 shots per game as the primary option in goal for Vegas. Fleury has 29 wins, 22 losses, and four OT losses to his name and has recorded a fairly-weak .908 save percentage and 2.61 goals against average this season.
Jonathan Marchessault (19 goals, 21 assists) and Alex Tuch (16 goals, 24 assists) will lead the attack for the Golden Knights.
Nashville Predators vs. Vegas Golden Knights Betting Predictions
NHL Prediction: SU Winner – Golden Knights, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- For both of these clubs, the total has gone over in four of their past five matchups.
- This game features two clubs that attempt a heavy amount of shots on goal. Nashville has attempted the league’s seventh-most shots on goal (32.8) and Vegas’s attempted the fourth-most (33.5).
- Penalties and power plays could have a critical role in the outcome of this matchup. The Predators are 14-11 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 24-18 when they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 total minutes. The Golden Knights are 12-10 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 25-22 in games where total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
- Vegas is 2-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Nashville is 1-1 in shootouts.
- One of the best teams at creating pressure on opposing puckhandlers, Vegas is ranked 3rd in the league with 10.2 takeaways per game. That figure has trended down, however, as it has forced 8.4 takeaways over its last 10 games and 7.8 takeaways over its last five.
- Nashville skaters have created 10.2 takeaways per game over its last five road games, an improvement over its season average of 7.9 takeaways per game (ranked 14th).
- Vegas may hold the upper hand if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s 14-11 in games decided by one goal, while Nashville is 12-14 in such games.
