Nashville Predators at Arizona Coyotes NHL Picks & Predictions 1/4/2018

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Gila River Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Nashville Predators head to Gila River Arena to take on the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday, January 4, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Predators at -185 and the Coyotes at +166.

Nashville has a record of 23-11-5 this year and away from home they have a record of 11-7-3-2. They are 3rd in the Central Division. They have tallied 123 goals and surrendered 107 goals for a point differential of +16. For the year they have an ATS mark of 23-16-0 and an over/under record of 20-19-0. Arizona has a record of 9-27-5 including 4-13-1-0 on home ice this year. They are 8th in the Pacific Division. They've scored 94 goals and have given up 146 for a goal differential of -52. Their record against the spread is 9-32-0 while their over/under mark is 18-22-0.

Valuable Nashville Predators Betting Trends

The Nashville Predators are 23-16-0 straight up this year

The Nashville Predators are 20-19-0 against the over/under this season

Important Arizona Coyotes Betting Trends

The Arizona Coyotes are 9-32-0 straight up this year

The Arizona Coyotes are 18-22-0 against the over/under this season

Key Nashville Predators Injuries

12/30/17 LW Filip Forsberg Upper Body IR (12/29)

Key Arizona Coyotes Injuries

12/31/17 C Brad Richardson Upper Body IR (12/27)
12/27/17 LW Zac Rinaldo Suspension 6-game suspension (eligible to return 01/13 vs San Jose)
12/02/17 D Niklas Hjalmarsson Upper Body IR (11/28)

Player Spotlight

Kevin Fiala has scored 26 total points this year for the Predators. He has 10 goals this season with 85 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 16 assists on the year and averages 14.9 minutes played per contest. P.K. Subban averages 24.3 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by tallying 9 goals on 91 attempts. He has 20 assists, giving him a total of 29 points on the year. Pekka Rinne has 19 wins and 8 losses this season in goal for the Predators. He has 952 shots against him and he's surrendered 72 goals. He's made 880 stops for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Oliver Ekman-Larsson has 19 total points this season for the Coyotes. He has 6 goals this year with 110 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 6%. He has a total of 13 assists on the year and averages 24.7 minutes played per contest. Clayton Keller averages 18.8 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 14 goals on 116 attempts. He has 18 assists, giving him a total of 32 points on the year. Antti Raanta has 5 wins and 11 losses this season in net for the Coyotes. He has 548 shots against him and he's given up 48 goals. He's made 500 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Predators have 51 total points this year, which is 7th in the NHL. They've scored 123 goals while giving up 107 scores, which has them ranked 9th and 24th respectively. They have had 147 power play chances and scored 36 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 24%. That is 3rd in the league. The Predators have given up 161 power play opportunities and surrendered 28 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, ranking them 10th when short-handed. They average 31 shots per contest and as a team shoot 10.28% for the year. They allow 33 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 92%, which is 5th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Coyotes are 31st in the league with a total of 23 points this season. They have 22 power play goals on 132 chances for a percentage of 17%. That is 23rd in the NHL. They've given up 107 power play opportunities and surrendered 21 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking 20th overall. As a team, the Coyotes are 30th with a total of 94 goals scored while they've given up 146 goals this season, ranking 1st in goals against. They average 30 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 7.63%. As a unit they give up 32 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 89%, putting them 31st overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Nashville has a Corsi percentage of 49.3% as they've tried 2,248 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,312 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 20th in Corsi percentage. They are 19th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 49.3% as they have 1,693 shots while they've given up 1,743 attempts on defense. The Predators start possessions in the offensive zone 46.5% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 53.5% for the year. That puts them 28th and 3rd in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,307 face-off wins as opposed to 1,185 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52.4%. That is 5th overall in the NHL. On defense Nashville has 819 hits and they've blocked 569 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 21st in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Coyotes are 22nd in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 48.7% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 51.3% for the season, which is 8th in the NHL. They have 1,241 face-off wins compared to 1,361 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.7%. That is 25th in the league. On defense Arizona has 982 hits and they have blocked 578 shots from the opposition, which is 18th in the league. Arizona is 17th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.9% as they've attempted 2,389 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,498 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 47.7% ranks 21st as they have 1,752 attempts while they have given up 1,920 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Nashville -185

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