In their fifth and last head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Minnesota Wild and the Nashville Predators collide at Bridgestone Arena in a Central Division tilt. Fox Sports North will showcase the matchup, which gets underway at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 27.
Minnesota Wild at Nashville Predators Odds
With a moneyline of -170, Nashville heads into the contest as the noticeable favorite. The line for Minnesota sits at +150, and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total sit at -120 for the under and +100 for the over.
The Predators are 48-27 straight up (SU) and have earned moneyline bettors 13.5 units this year. That winning percentage, ranked second in the NHL so far this season, is a solid improvement compared to what the team managed during last year’s regular season (41-41). Of the team’s 75 games this season, 37 have gone over the total, while another 37 have gone under and just one has pushed. The team’s 25-12 SU at home this year.
Nashville’s converted on 20.6 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 10th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.2 percent of all penalties.
Nashville, as a collective unit, has been called for penalties 4.5 times per game overall this season, 4.2 per game over its last five outings total, and 4.6 per game over its last five at home. The team’s had to kill penalties for just 8.4 minutes per game over its last five outings, overall.
Averaging 29.2 saves per game with a .928 save percentage, Pekka Rinne (40 wins, 15 losses, and four OT losses) has been the primary option in goal for the Predators this season. If head coach Peter Laviolette decides to rest him, however, the team may turn to Juuse Saros (8-13-13 record, .925 save percentage, 2.44 goals against average).
Viktor Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg will both lead the offensive attack for the Predators. Arvidsson (58 points) has tallied 28 goals and 30 assists and has recorded two or more points 16 times this year. Forsberg has 21 goals and 34 assists to his name and has notched at least one point in 38 contests.
Minnesota is 42-33 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 1.1 units this year. Through 75 regular season outings, 38 of its games have gone over the total, while 33 have gone under and just four have pushed. As the away team, Minnesota is 17-19 SU.
Minnesota has converted on 20.0 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 18th overall and it’s successfully killed off 79.8 percent of all opponent power plays.
Minnesota’s skaters have been penalized 3.7 times per game this season, and 2.4 per game over their last five road outings. The team’s been forced to kill penalties just 6.1 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Devan Dubnyk (.916 save percentage and 2.60 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Minnesota. Dubnyk is averaging 27.0 saves per game and has 33 wins, 21 losses, and six OT losses to his credit.
Eric Staal (39 goals, 33 assists) will pace the attack for the visiting Wild.
Minnesota Wild vs. Nashville Predators Free Picks
Free Pick: SU Winner – Predators, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Trends
The over has hit in three of Nashville’s last five outings.
The extra-man advantage could be extremely important in tonight’s game. The Wild are 12-11 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 29-17 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Predators are 17-6 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 24-14 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
Two of Nashville’s last ten games have gone to a shootout. The team is 0-2 in those games and 5-7 overall in shootouts this year.
Nashville has created 9.8 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 7.9 takeaways per game (ranked 11th in the league).
Minnesota is ranked 26th this season with 5.9 takeaways per game. That figure has trended higher lately, as the team has managed 6.7 takeaways over its last 10 games and 7.4 takeaways over its last five.
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