Nashville Predators vs. Vancouver Canucks Free Preview

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In their second head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Nashville Predators and the Vancouver Canucks collide at Rogers Arena for a Western Conference showdown. The match will get underway at 10 p.m. ET on Wednesday, December 13 and it’s being shown live on Sportsnet.

Nashville Predators vs. Vancouver Canucks Odds

With a moneyline of -135, Nashville enters the game as the favorite. The line for Vancouver sits at +115 and the oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The odds for betting that total stand at -110 for the over and -110 on the under. Nashville is 18-11 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 5.8 units this year. 16 of its contests have gone over the total, while 13 have gone under and none have pushed. The Preds are 7-7 SU as the road team in 2017-18. Nashville has converted on 26.1 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that places them in the top-5 among NHL teams. On the other hand, it has the sixth-best penalty kill in the league, and it’s successfully killed off 82.9 percent of its penalties. For the team as a whole, Nashville has been penalized 5.4 times per game overall in the 2017-18 season, and 4.2 per game over its last five on the road. The teams been forced to defend opponent power plays 9.6 minutes per contest over their last five road games. With a .926 save percentage and 30.4 saves per game, Pekka Rinne (16-7-3) has been the primary option in goal for Nashville this year. If head coach Peter Laviolette decides to rest him, however, Nashville may go with Juuse Saros (2-4-1 record, .890 save percentage, 3.43 goals against average). Filip Forsberg and Kyle Turris will both lead the way for the visiting Predators. Forsberg (29 points) is up to 14 goals and 15 assists, and has recorded two or more points seven times. Turris has six goals and 16 assists to his name, and has notched at least one point in 13 games. On the other side of the ice, Vancouver is 14-17 straight up (SU) and has earned 1.3 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 31 regular season contests, 16 of its games have gone over the total, while 15 have gone under and none have pushed. It’s 5-9 SU as the home team this year. Vancouver has converted on 20.6 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s good enough for 10th-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 20th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 79.8 percent of all penalties. Vancouver players have been penalized 3.9 times per game in total this season, and 2.8 per game over their last five home outings. The teams had to kill penalties just 6.8 minutes per game over their last 10 outings. Jacob Markstrom (26.1 saves per game) has been the primary netminder in goal for Vancouver. Markstrom has eight wins, 14 losses, and three overtime losses to his credit and has registered a 2.56 goals against average and a .911 save percentage this season. The Nucks offense will be led by Brock Boeser (16 goals, 12 assists).

Nashville Predators at Vancouver Canucks Betting Predictions

Predictions: SU Winner – Predators, O/U – Under

Betting Notes

  • The total has gone under in three of Vancouver’s last five games.
  • The Predators are 7-1 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 8-3 in games where they’re in the box for fewer than 10 penalty minutes, total.
  • Four of Nashville’s last ten games have gone to a shootout. The team is 2-2 in those games and 3-3 overall in shootouts this season.
  • Vancouver has created 3.0 takeaways per game over its last five home games, a drop-off from its season average of 5.6 takeaways per game (ranked 28th).
  • Nashville is ranked 12th in the league with 7.8 takeaways per game. That figure has trended upward recently, as the team has averaged 10.1 takeaways over its last 10 games and 9.6 takeaways over its last five.
  • Nashville may hold an advantage if this one comes down to the wire. The teams 8-5 in games decided by one goal, while Vancouver is 4-6 in such games.