A game that features two teams riding winning streaks, the Nashville Predators and the Florida Panthers clash at the BB&T Center. This East-West matchup will get underway at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, February 1, and it will be showcased live on Fox Sports Tennesse.
Nashville Predators at Florida Panthers Odds
Nashville (-115) is favored over Florida (-105) and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at an even 6 goals. If you want to play the game’s total, you’ll be looking at odds of -110 money on the over and -110 for the under.
Nashville is 30-22 straight up (SU) and has lost 4.0 units for moneyline bettors this year. 25 of its outings have gone under the total, while 24 have gone over and just three have pushed. As the away team this season, the Preds are 14-13 SU.
Nashville has converted on just 13.7 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s ranked 30th in the NHL. Its penalty kill is ranked 14th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.5 percent of its penalties.
Nashville, as a collective unit, has been penalized 3.7 times per game during the 2018-19 season, and 4.4 per game over its last five on the road. The team’s been forced to kill penalties 11.0 minutes per contest over their last five road games.
With a .915 save percentage and 24.8 saves per game, Pekka Rinne (19-17-4) has been the primary option in goal for Nashville this year. If it decides to rest him, however, Nashville could roll with Juuse Saros (12-9-1 record, .914 save percentage, 2.58 goals against average).
The visiting Predators have relied on Ryan Johansen and Mattias Ekholm heavily this season. Johansen (43 points) is up to nine goals and 34 assists, and has recorded multiple points 12 times. Ekholm has six goals and 31 assists to his credit, and has registered a point in 28 games.
On the other side of the rink, Florida is 20-28 straight up (SU) and has lost 13.7 units for moneyline bettors this year. 26 of its matches have gone over the total, while 16 have gone under and just six have pushed. It’s 10-11 SU at home this year.
Florida currently has the third-strongest power-play unit in the NHL, as it has scored on 26.8 percent of its extra-man advantages this season. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 14th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.6 percent of all penalties.
The Panthers have been penalized 3.6 times per game this season, and 2.8 per game over their last five home outings. The team has had to defend opponent power plays just 6.8 minutes per game over their last five home outings.
James Reimer (23.1 saves per game) has been the top choice in goal for Florida. Reimer has 10 wins, 17 losses, and five overtime losses and has recorded a mediocre 3.15 goals against average and a poor .897 save percentage this season.
The Panthers offense will be led by Jonathan Huberdeau (12 goals, 37 assists).
Nashville Predators vs. Florida Panthers Betting Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Predators, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- Extra-man opportunities may have a key role in tonight’s matchup. The Predators are 13-9 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 21-15 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Panthers are 12-14 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 10-20 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Florida (2-4 in shootouts this season) has more experience in games decided by shootout. Nashville has only participated in two shootouts this year, winning one and losing the other.
- Florida skaters have averaged 9.6 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 8.7 takeaways per game (ranked 7th).
- Nashville has averaged 8.6 takeaways per game over its last five road games, its season average of 8.0 takeaways per game (ranked 13th).
