Bridgestone Arena is the site for a Western Conference matchup as the San Jose Sharks pay a visit to the Nashville Predators. This one will get started at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, October 23 and it’ll air live on NBC Sports Network.
San Jose Sharks at Nashville Predators Odds
San Jose (+110) is playing the role of underdog to Nashville (-130) and the oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-120 over, +100 under).
The Predators are 7-1 straight up (SU) and have netted 5.3 units for moneyline bettors this year. That winning percentage, ranked first in the NHL in this young season, is an improvement over the 53-29 record from the 2017-18 season campaign. Of its eight regular season matches, four have gone under the total, while three have gone over and just one has pushed. The team’s 3-1 SU at home this season.
Nashville’s successfully scored on 14.8 percent of its power play opportunities in 2018-19. That’s a significant drop-off from last season, when the team was ranked 11th in the league by scoring on 21.2 percent of its extra-man chances. Its penalty kill has fallen off noticeably year-over-year as the team’s gone from successfully defending 82.2 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked sixth overall last season) to 77.3 percent this year.
Nashville, as a collective unit, has been penalized 3.6 times per game this season. Last year, that number was at 4.5, the worst mark in the league. After serving an average of 10.9 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team’s been forced to stave off opponent power plays for only 8.4 minutes per outing this season.
Averaging 26.2 saves per game with a .929 save percentage, Pekka Rinne (4-1) has been the most dependable goalkeeper for the Predators this year. If head coach Peter Laviolette decides to give him a rest, however, the team may turn to the undefeated Juuse Saros (4-0 record, .945 save percentage, 1.54 goals against average).
Filip Forsberg and Mattias Ekholm will both spearhead the attack for the Predators. Forsberg (eight points) has tallied five goals and three assists while Ekholm has two goals and five assists to his credit so far in the early stages of the season.
On the visitors’ side of the ice, San Jose is 4-4 straight up (SU) and has lost 2.3 units for bettors taking the moneyline thus far. A total of five of its games have gone under the total, while three have gone over and none have pushed. As a road team so far, San Jose is 2-3 SU.
San Jose’s scored on 16.7 percent of its power play chances this year after converting on 21.1 percent of its extra-man opportunities in 2017-18 (a figure that was just better than the league average). The team has gone from successfully defending 84.2 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked second overall last season) to 82.4 percent this year.
San Jose’s players have been penalized 5.1 times per game this season, a number that’s climbed noticeably from the 3.4 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 8.3 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team has had to stave off opponent power plays for a taxing 12.9 minutes per outing this year.
Martin Jones (22.7 saves per game) has been the primary option in the net for San Jose. Jones has three wins and three losses to his credit, while registering a .907 save percentage and 2.36 goals against average this year.
Leading the offensive attack for the visiting Sharks will be Logan Couture (five goals, three assists) and Evander Kane (four goals, three assists).
San Jose Sharks vs. Nashville Predators Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Predators, O/U – Over
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Notes
Betting Notes
The total has gone under in three of San Jose’s last five outings.
Penalties and power plays may prove to be key in tonight’s matchup. The Sharks are 2-1 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 0-3 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Predators are 3-0 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 4-1 when total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
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