ridgestone Arena will be the site for an East-West tilt as the Florida Panthers square off against the Nashville Predators. Fox Sports Tennesse will showcase the game, which gets going at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 20.
Florida Panthers at Nashville Predators Odds
arning 7.0 units for moneyline bettors, Nashville is 27-17 straight up (SU) overall this year. That winning percentage, ranked third in the league in this young season, is an improvement over the 41-41 record from last years regular season campaign. Of its 44 regular season matches, 23 have gone under the total, while 21 have gone over and none have pushed. The team is 15-6 SU at home this year.
he Predators have converted on 23.5 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a mark that places them in the top-5 among NHL teams. On the other hand, their penalty kill is rated 11th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 82.8 percent of all penalties.
he Predators, as a collective unit, have been called for penalties 5.0 times per game overall this season, and 3.4 per game over their last five outings home outings. The teams had to kill penalties for just 6.8 minutes per game over their last 10 outings, in total.
veraging 29.0 saves per game with a .925 save percentage, Pekka Rinne (22-11-3) has been the best goalkeeper for the Preds this season. If the Preds decide to give him the night off, however, head coach Peter Laviolette might roll with Juuse Saros (5-7-7 record, .930 save percentage, 2.22 goals against average).
he Preds will continue to look for leadership from Filip Forsberg and P.K. Subban. Forsberg (34 points) has tallied 15 goals and 19 assists and has recorded multiple points on eight separate occasions this year. Subban has nine goals and 24 assists to his name and has notched a point in 24 contests.
n the other bench, Florida is 19-25 straight up (SU) and has lost 7.2 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. A total of 22 of its outings have gone over the total, while 21 have gone under and none have pushed. The Panthers are 8-15 SU as the road team this season.
he Panthers have converted on just 15.8 percent of their power play chances this season, a figure that places them in the bottom-five overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 18th overall and it’s successfully defended 80.4 percent of all opponent power plays.
lorida’s players have been penalized 4.2 times per game this season, and 3.6 per game over their last ten outings. The team has had to defend opponent power plays 8.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
ames Reimer (.910 save percentage and 3.04 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Florida. Reimer is averaging 28.5 saves per game and has 13 wins, 18 losses, and five OT losses to his credit.
onathan Huberdeau (16 goals, 29 assists) has been one of the primary playmakers on offense for the visiting Panthers.
Florida Panthers vs. Nashville Predators Betting Picks
redictions: SU Winner – Predators, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- Power-play opportunities may be key in the outcome of this matchup. The Panthers are 5-13 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 8-16 when they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 total minutes. The Predators are 12-2 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 14-6 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Two of Nashville’s last ten games have ended in a shootout. The team is 1-1 in those games and 4-4 overall in shootouts this year.
- Nashville may hold an advantage if this one comes down to the wire. The teams 13-7 in games decided by one goal, while Florida is 10-12 in such games.
- The total has gone under in four of Nashville’s last five games.
- Nashville has allowed 2.6 goals per game overall this year, but has allowed just 1.5 per contest over its four-game winning streak.
- Nashville is ranked 11th this season with 9.0 giveaways per game. That figure has trended lower recently, however, as it’s averaged 6.3 giveaways over its last 10 games and 7.4 giveaways over its last five.
- Florida skaters have averaged 5.6 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 12.0 giveaways per game (ranked 28th in the NHL).
