Nashville Predators at Boston Bruins NHL Picks & Predictions 12/22/2018

Saturday, December 22, 2018

TD Garden

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Nashville Predators travel to TD Garden to play the Boston Bruins on Saturday, December 22, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Predators at +106 and the Bruins at -137.

Nashville has a record of 22-12-2 this season. They are 2nd in the Central Division. They have scored 109 goals and given up 90 goals for a point differential of +19. For the season they have an ATS record of 22-13-0 and an over/under record of 16-18-0. Boston has a record of 19-12-4 this year. They are 4th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 97 goals and surrendered 89 for a goal differential of +8. Their record against the spread is 18-16-0 while their over/under record is 12-21-0.

Valuable Nashville Predators Betting Trends

The Nashville Predators are 22-13-0 straight up this year

The Nashville Predators are 16-18-0 against the over/under this season

Important Boston Bruins Betting Trends

The Boston Bruins are 18-16-0 straight up this year

The Boston Bruins are 12-21-0 against the over/under this season

Key Nashville Predators Injuries

12/20/18 C Colton Sissons Ankle is questionable Saturday vs Boston
12/20/18 D Mattias Ekholm Illness is questionable Saturday vs Boston
12/02/18 LW Filip Forsberg Upper Body is out 4-6 weeks
11/15/18 D P.K. Subban Undisclosed IR (11/15)
11/12/18 LW Viktor Arvidsson Upper Body IR (11/12)

Key Boston Bruins Injuries

12/20/18 D Urho Vaakanainen Concussion is questionable Saturday vs Nashville
12/19/18 D Zdeno Chara Lower Body is out indefinitely
12/18/18 LW Jake DeBrusk Concussion is out indefinitely
11/29/18 D Kevan Miller Throat is out indefinitely
11/22/18 C Patrice Bergeron Upper Body is out 4-6 weeks

Player Spotlight

Pekka Rinne has 14 wins and 7 losses this season in net for the Predators. He has 658 shots against him and he's given up 48 goals. He's made 610 saves for a save percentage of 93%. Ryan Johansen has accumulated 30 total points this season for the Predators. He has 5 goals this year with 57 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 9%. He has a total of 25 assists on the season and averages 19.6 minutes played per game. Roman Josi averages 25.4 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 5% by scoring 7 goals on 133 shots. He has 19 assists, giving him a total of 26 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Brad Marchand has scored 36 total points this year for the Bruins. He has 11 goals this season with 101 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 25 assists on the season and averages 19.9 minutes played per game. Tuukka Rask has 8 wins and 7 losses this year in goal for the Bruins. He has 481 shots against him and he's surrendered 41 goals. He's made 440 saves for a save percentage of 92%. David Pastrnak averages 19.3 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by scoring 22 goals on 136 shots. He has 22 assists, giving him a total of 44 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Predators have allowed 117 power play opportunities and have given up 21 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82% this year. That is 11th in the NHL. They average 32 shots per game and as a team shoot 9.43% for the season. They allow 29 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is ranked 4th in the league. The Predators have 46 total points this season, ranking 5th in the NHL in offense. They are 14th in the league with 109 goals while they've given up 90 goals, which is 30th overall. They have had 124 power play opportunities and scored 18 goals on those chances for a percentage of 15%. That is 27th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Bruins are 23rd with 97 goals scored while they are 31st in the NHL with 89 goals allowed this year. They average 32 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 8.54%. They give up 31 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%, putting them in 2nd place in the league. The Bruins have a total of 42 points this year, which is 11th in the NHL. They have 29 power play goals on 110 opportunities for a percentage of 26%. That ranks their power play unit 5th. They've allowed 103 power play opportunities and have given up 22 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, which is 18th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Nashville is 6th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 53.5%, as they've attempted 2,124 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,843 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 53.5% as they have 1,600 attempts while they have given up 1,389 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 4th in the league. The Predators start possessions in the offensive zone 53.6% of the time, which is 8th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 46.4% for the season. That is 24th overall in the NHL. They have 1,163 face-off wins compared to 1,061 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52.3%. That ranks them 3rd in the league. On defense Nashville has 635 hits and they have blocked 454 shots from the opposition, putting them 27th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Bruins are 5th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 54.4% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 45.6% for the season, which is 25th in the NHL. They have 1,054 face-off wins compared to 1,063 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.8%. That is 17th in the league. On defense Boston has 805 hits and they have blocked 445 shots from the opposition, which is 29th in the league. Boston is 10th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.5% as they've attempted 2,068 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,945 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 51.6% ranks 10th as they have 1,596 attempts while they have given up 1,500 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Nashville +106

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