In their last head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Nashville Predators take the ice at Bridgestone Arena. Fox Sports Tennesse will broadcast this East-West matchup, and the puck drops at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 9.
Carolina Hurricanes vs. Nashville Predators Odds
With a -150 moneyline, Nashville enters the contest as the noticeable favorite. The line for Carolina now stands at +130, and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -120 over, +100 under.
The Predators are 39-30 straight up (SU) and have hurt moneyline bettors to the tune of -7.3 units so far. That winning percentage, the second-best in the Central Division in this young season, is a regression from the 53-29 record that the team posted during the 2017-18 season campaign. Through 69 regular season contests, 36 of the team’s games have gone under the total, while 30 have gone over and just three have pushed. The team is 22-13 SU at home this season.
Nashville has converted on just 13.2 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that places the team in the bottom- overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 13th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.9 percent of all penalties.
As a team, Nashville has been called for penalties 3.7 times per game overall this season, 3.6 per game over its past five matchups total, and 4.2 per game over its last five at home. The team has been forced to kill penalties for just 7.9 minutes per game over its last 10 matchups, overall.
Boasting a .913 save percentage and 25.3 saves per game, Pekka Rinne (25 wins, 22 losses, and four OT losses) has been the top goalkeeper for the Predators this season. If head coach Peter Laviolette chooses to give him a rest, however, the Preds may turn to Juuse Saros (15-12-12 record, .916 save percentage, 2.59 goals against average).
The Preds will continue relying on leadership out of Ryan Johansen and Roman Josi. Johansen (54 points) is up to 11 goals and 43 assists and has recorded multiple points in 15 different games this year. Josi has 15 goals and 38 assists to his name and has recorded at least one point in 37 games.
Over on the visiting bench, Carolina is 36-31 straight up (SU) and has lost 5.3 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. Through 67 regular season contests, 37 of its games have gone under the total, while 28 have gone over and just one has pushed. As the away team, Carolina is 18-16 SU.
Carolina has converted on just 17.0 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that’s ranked 23rd in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 11th overall and it’s successfully killed off 81.4 percent of all penalties.
Carolina’s players have been penalized 3.6 times per game this season, 3.2 per game over their past five games total, and 3.4 per game over their last five road outings. The team’s had to kill penalties 8.9 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Petr Mrazek (24.2 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for Carolina. Mrazek has 16 wins, 15 losses, and three overtime losses to his credit, while registering a .904 save percentage and 2.60 goals against average this year.
Sebastian Aho (29 goals, 46 assists) has been one of the top facilitators on offense for the visiting Hurricanes.
Carolina Hurricanes at Nashville Predators Free Picks
Free Prediction: SU Winner – Hurricanes, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- The total has gone over in four of Carolina’s last five outings.
- Two clubs that shoot the puck early and often, Carolina has registered the league’s second-most shots on goal (34.7) while Nashville has attempted the seventh-most (33.0).
- The extra-man advantage may be critical in the outcome of this matchup. The Hurricanes are 13-17 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 24-24 in games where they’re in the box for fewer than 10 penalty minutes, total. The Predators are 15-11 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 28-20 in games where total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
- Three of Nashville’s past 10 contests have ended in a shootout. The team is 3-0 in those games and 4-1 overall in shootouts this season.
- Nashville is ranked 15th overall this season with 7.8 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended lower lately, however, as it has managed 7.0 takeaways over its last 10 games and 6.4 takeaways over its last five.
- One of the league’s best at disrupting opposing teams, Carolina is ranked second overall with 11.1 takeaways per game. That figure has trended upward lately, as it has forced 14.5 takeaways over its last 10 games and 16.8 takeaways over its last five.
