Nashville Predators at Philadelphia Flyers NHL Picks & Predictions 12/20/2018

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Wells Fargo Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Nashville Predators head to Wells Fargo Center to take on the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, December 20, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Predators at -130 and the Flyers at +105.

Nashville has a record of 22-11-2 this year. They are 2nd in the Central Division. They've tallied 108 goals and surrendered 88 goals for a point differential of +20. For the year they have an ATS mark of 22-12-0 and an over/under record of 16-17-0. Philadelphia has a record of 13-15-4 this season. They are 7th in the Metropolitan Division. They have scored 96 goals and given up 118 for a goal differential of -22. Their record against the spread is 12-19-0 while their over/under mark is 19-12-0.

Valuable Nashville Predators Betting Trends

The Nashville Predators are 22-12-0 straight up this year

The Nashville Predators are 16-17-0 against the over/under this season

Important Philadelphia Flyers Betting Trends

The Philadelphia Flyers are 12-19-0 straight up this year

The Philadelphia Flyers are 19-12-0 against the over/under this season

Key Nashville Predators Injuries

12/19/18 C Colton Sissons Ankle is questionable Thursday vs Philadelphia
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 Philadelphia Flyers Injuries

12/18/18 GO Michal Neuvirth Personal is probable Thursday vs Nashville
12/17/18 GO Anthony Stolarz Lower Body is out 2-4 weeks
11/16/18 GO Brian Elliott Lower Body is out indefinitely
10/30/18 C Corban Knight Upper Body IR (10/28)
10/03/18 D Samuel Morin Knee IR (10/03)

Player Spotlight

Ryan Johansen has scored 30 total points this year for the Predators. He has 5 goals this season with 56 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 9%. He has a total of 25 assists on the year and averages 19.5 minutes played per contest. Roman Josi averages 25.3 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 5% by tallying 7 goals on 130 attempts. He has 19 assists, giving him a total of 26 points on the year. Pekka Rinne has 14 wins and 6 losses this season in goal for the Predators. He has 627 shots against him and he's surrendered 46 goals. He's made 581 stops for a save percentage of 93%.

Player Spotlight

Jakub Voracek has 25 total points this season for the Flyers. He has 8 goals this year with 80 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 17 assists on the year and averages 18.6 minutes played per contest. Claude Giroux averages 20.5 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 11% by scoring 11 goals on 97 attempts. He has 29 assists, giving him a total of 40 points on the year. Anthony Stolarz has 2 wins and 3 losses this season in net for the Flyers. He has 242 shots against him and he's given up 29 goals. He's made 213 saves for a save percentage of 88%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Predators have 46 total points this year, which is 3rd in the NHL. They've scored 108 goals while giving up 88 scores, which has them ranked 13th and 31st respectively. They have had 118 power play chances and scored 18 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 15%. That is 26th in the league. The Predators have given up 113 power play opportunities and surrendered 21 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, ranking them 11th when short-handed. They average 32 shots per contest and as a team shoot 9.61% for the year. They allow 29 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 4th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Flyers are 26th in the league with a total of 30 points this season. They have 12 power play goals on 95 chances for a percentage of 13%. That is 29th in the NHL. They've given up 105 power play opportunities and surrendered 28 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 73%, ranking 30th overall. As a team, the Flyers are 22nd with a total of 96 goals scored while they've given up 118 goals this season, ranking 5th in goals against. They average 32 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 9.50%. As a unit they give up 30 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 88%, putting them 31st overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Nashville is 6th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 53.4%, as they've attempted 2,059 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,796 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 53.6% as they have 1,559 attempts while they have given up 1,348 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 4th in the league. The Predators start possessions in the offensive zone 53.4% of the time, which is 8th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 46.6% for the season. That is 24th overall in the NHL. They have 1,144 face-off wins compared to 1,034 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52.5%. That ranks them 2nd in the league. On defense Nashville has 618 hits and they have blocked 448 shots from the opposition, putting them 24th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Flyers are 18th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 49.5% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 50.5% for the season, which is 14th in the NHL. They have 1,008 face-off wins compared to 824 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 55%. That is 1st in the league. On defense Philadelphia has 735 hits and they have blocked 454 shots from the opposition, which is 23rd in the league. Philadelphia is 8th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.9% as they've attempted 1,881 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,742 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 52.2% ranks 8th as they have 1,409 attempts while they have given up 1,288 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Philadelphia +105

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