The Minnesota Wild, spearheaded by Brad Hunt and Ryan Suter, are ready to take the ice against Ryan Ellis, Matt Duchene, and the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena in a Central Division showdown. Fox Sports North will air the matchup, which gets going at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, October 24.
Minnesota Wild vs. Nashville Predators Odds
The Predators (-180) are favored over the Wild (+160), and oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at an even 6 goals (-115 for the over, -105 for the under).
Losing 2.0 units for moneyline bettors, Nashville is 5-4 straight up (SU) overall thus far. That win percentage, the second-best in the Central Division so far this season, is a slide from what the team managed during the 2018-19 season (47-35). Through nine regular season contests, eight of the team’s games have gone over the total, while one has gone under and none have pushed. The team is 4-2 SU at home so far this year.
The Predators have successfully connected on 20.0 percent of their power play chances thus far. That’s a big improvement from last season, when they were ranked 31st in the league by scoring on 12.6 percent of their extra-man advantages. Their penalty kill has fallen off significantly year-over-year as they’ve gone from successfully defending 82.1 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked sixth overall last season) to 69.0 percent this year.
Averaging 27.2 saves per game with a .921 save percentage, Pekka Rinne (5-1-1) has been the most dependable option in goal for the Preds this season. If the Preds, however, decide to give him the night off, the team might go with the winless Juuse Saros (0-3-3 record, .853 save percentage, 4.74 goals against average).
On the other hand, Minnesota is 3-6 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.4 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. Four of its contests have gone over the total, while three have gone under the total and two have pushed. The Wild are 1-5 SU as the road team this season.
The Wild have scored on 18.2 percent of their power play chances this year after converting on 20.3 percent of their extra-man opportunities last season (a figure that was just better than the league average). The team has gone from successfully defending 81.7 percent of opponent power plays (ranked eighth overall last season) to 77.4 percent this year.
Devan Dubnyk (24.1 saves per game) has been the main option in the net for Minnesota. Dubnyk has two wins and five losses to his credit, while registering a .880 save percentage and 3.92 goals against average this year.
Minnesota Wild at Nashville Predators Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Predators, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- The Wild are 0-2 SU in games where they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Predators are 1-1 SU when they serve more minutes than the opposition.
- After going 4-2 in games decided by a shootout last year, the Predators are off to a 0-1 start in shootouts this season. Minnesota went 1-4 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.
- For both of these teams, the over has hit in four of their past five matchups.
