Nashville Predators at Minnesota Wild NHL Picks & Predictions 12/29/2017

Friday, December 29, 2017

Xcel Energy Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Nashville Predators head to Xcel Energy Center to take on the Minnesota Wild on Friday, December 29, 2017. The opening line for this contest has the Predators at -105 and the Wild at -105.

Nashville has a record of 22-9-5 this year and away from home they have a record of 11-5-3-2. They are 1st in the Central Division. They have tallied 118 goals and surrendered 100 goals for a point differential of +18. For the year they have an ATS mark of 22-14-0 and an over/under record of 19-17-0. Minnesota has a record of 19-15-3 including 11-4-2-0 on home ice this year. They are 5th in the Central Division. They've scored 106 goals and have given up 108 for a goal differential of -2. Their record against the spread is 19-18-0 while their over/under mark is 19-16-0.

Valuable Nashville Predators Betting Trends

The Nashville Predators are 22-14-0 straight up this year

The Nashville Predators are 19-17-0 against the over/under this season

Important Minnesota Wild Betting Trends

The Minnesota Wild are 19-18-0 straight up this year

The Minnesota Wild are 19-16-0 against the over/under this season

Key Nashville Predators Injuries

10/02/17 D Ryan Ellis Knee IR (10/03)

Key Minnesota Wild Injuries

12/28/17 RW Nino Niederreiter Lower Body is "?" Friday vs Nashville
12/14/17 GO Devan Dubnyk Lower Body is out indefinitely
10/24/17 LW Zach Parise Back IR (10/01)

Player Spotlight

Viktor Arvidsson has scored 24 total points this year for the Predators. He has 11 goals this season with 118 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 9%. He has a total of 13 assists on the year and averages 18.3 minutes played per contest. Filip Forsberg averages 18.2 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by tallying 15 goals on 92 attempts. He has 19 assists, giving him a total of 34 points on the year. Pekka Rinne has 19 wins and 6 losses this season in goal for the Predators. He has 885 shots against him and he's surrendered 67 goals. He's made 818 stops for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Jason Zucker has 27 total points this season for the Wild. He has 15 goals this year with 86 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 17%. He has a total of 12 assists on the year and averages 17.4 minutes played per contest. Eric Staal averages 18.4 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 15 goals on 111 attempts. He has 17 assists, giving him a total of 32 points on the year. Alex Stalock has 7 wins and 7 losses this season in net for the Wild. He has 482 shots against him and he's given up 41 goals. He's made 441 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Predators have 49 total points this year, which is 3rd in the NHL. They've scored 118 goals while giving up 100 scores, which has them ranked 6th and 25th respectively. They have had 137 power play chances and scored 34 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 25%. That is 3rd in the league. The Predators have given up 152 power play opportunities and surrendered 26 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, ranking them 8th when short-handed. They average 30 shots per contest and as a team shoot 10.78% for the year. They allow 33 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 92%, which is 3rd in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Wild are 17th in the league with a total of 41 points this season. They have 22 power play goals on 112 chances for a percentage of 20%. That is 13th in the NHL. They've given up 146 power play opportunities and surrendered 23 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 84%, ranking 4th overall. As a team, the Wild are 18th with a total of 106 goals scored while they've given up 108 goals this season, ranking 15th in goals against. They average 29 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 9.93%. As a unit they give up 32 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 16th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Nashville is 19th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.7%, as they've attempted 2,044 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,150 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 48.8% as they have 1,540 attempts while they have given up 1,617 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 20th in the league. The Predators start possessions in the offensive zone 45.7% of the time, which is 30th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 54.3% for the season. That is 3rd overall in the NHL. They have 1,209 face-off wins compared to 1,099 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52.4%. That ranks them 5th in the league. On defense Nashville has 755 hits and they have blocked 533 shots from the opposition, putting them 19th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Wild start possessions in the offensive zone 47.7% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 52.3% for the year. That ranks them 26th and 5th respectively in the NHL. They have 1,123 face-off wins as opposed to 1,101 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.5%. That is 12th in the league. On defense Minnesota has 661 hits and they've blocked 601 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 2nd in blocked shots. Minnesota is ranked 31st in Corsi percentage with 45.6% as they've tried 1,887 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,252 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 29th in the NHL at 47%, as they have 1,464 shots while they've given up 1,651 attempts on defense.

Who will win tonight's Predators/Wild NHL game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take Nashville -105

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