Nashville Predators at Washington Capitals NHL Picks & Predictions 12/31/2018

Monday, December 31, 2018

Capital One Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Nashville Predators head to Capital One Arena to take on the Washington Capitals on Monday, December 31, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Predators at +100 and the Capitals at -125.

Nashville has a record of 22-15-2 this year. They are 2nd in the Central Division. They've tallied 114 goals and surrendered 101 goals for a point differential of +13. For the year they have an ATS mark of 22-17-0 and an over/under record of 18-20-0. Washington has a record of 24-10-3 this season. They are 1st in the Metropolitan Division. They have scored 135 goals and given up 106 for a goal differential of +29. Their record against the spread is 24-13-0 while their over/under mark is 19-16-0.

Valuable Nashville Predators Betting Trends

The Nashville Predators are 22-17-0 straight up this year

The Nashville Predators are 18-20-0 against the over/under this season

Important Washington Capitals Betting Trends

The Washington Capitals are 24-13-0 straight up this year

The Washington Capitals are 19-16-0 against the over/under this season

Key Nashville Predators Injuries

12/29/18 C Colton Sissons Ankle IR (12/29)
12/29/18 C Kyle Turris Lower Body is questionable Monday vs Washington
12/27/18 D Yannick Weber Undisclosed IR (12/27)
12/02/18 LW Filip Forsberg Upper Body is out 4-6 weeks

Key Washington Capitals Injuries

12/29/18 D Matt Niskanen Head is questionable Monday vs Nashville
12/14/18 D Christian Djoos Lower Body is out indefinitely
11/09/18 D Brooks Orpik Lower Body is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Ryan Johansen has scored 31 total points this year for the Predators. He has 6 goals this season with 62 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 25 assists on the year and averages 19.7 minutes played per contest. Roman Josi averages 25.5 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 5% by tallying 7 goals on 142 attempts. He has 21 assists, giving him a total of 28 points on the year. Pekka Rinne has 14 wins and 10 losses this season in goal for the Predators. He has 741 shots against him and he's surrendered 58 goals. He's made 683 stops for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Alex Ovechkin has 45 total points this season for the Capitals. He has 29 goals this year with 147 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 20%. He has a total of 16 assists on the year and averages 21.1 minutes played per contest. Nicklas Backstrom averages 20.4 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 10 goals on 73 attempts. He has 33 assists, giving him a total of 43 points on the year. Braden Holtby has 15 wins and 8 losses this season in net for the Capitals. He has 804 shots against him and he's given up 68 goals. He's made 736 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Predators have 46 total points this year, which is 12th in the NHL. They've scored 114 goals while giving up 101 scores, which has them ranked 17th and 31st respectively. They have had 134 power play chances and scored 20 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 15%. That is 25th in the league. The Predators have given up 124 power play opportunities and surrendered 24 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, ranking them 12th when short-handed. They average 33 shots per contest and as a team shoot 8.96% for the year. They allow 29 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 10th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Capitals are 3rd in the league with a total of 51 points this season. They have 27 power play goals on 115 chances for a percentage of 23%. That is 8th in the NHL. They've given up 132 power play opportunities and surrendered 30 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%, ranking 24th overall. As a team, the Capitals are 3rd with a total of 135 goals scored while they've given up 106 goals this season, ranking 26th in goals against. They average 30 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 12.28%. As a unit they give up 32 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 9th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Nashville is 4th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 53.9%, as they've attempted 2,341 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,003 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 53.9% as they have 1,768 attempts while they have given up 1,514 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 3rd in the league. The Predators start possessions in the offensive zone 53.9% of the time, which is 7th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 46.1% for the season. That is 24th overall in the NHL. They have 1,267 face-off wins compared to 1,156 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52.3%. That ranks them 3rd in the league. On defense Nashville has 692 hits and they have blocked 489 shots from the opposition, putting them 29th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Capitals are 18th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 49.6% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 50.4% for the season, which is 13th in the NHL. They have 1,042 face-off wins compared to 1,137 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.8%. That is 27th in the league. On defense Washington has 818 hits and they have blocked 574 shots from the opposition, which is 7th in the league. Washington is 22nd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.7% as they've attempted 2,107 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,219 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 49% ranks 20th as they have 1,582 attempts while they have given up 1,645 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Washington -125

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