Nashville Predators at Washington Capitals NHL Picks & Predictions 4/5/2018

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Capital One Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Nashville Predators travel to Capital One Arena to play the Washington Capitals on Thursday, April 5, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Predators at -115 and the Capitals at +104.

Nashville has a record of 51-18-11 this season and on the road they have a record of 24-9-7-4. They are 1st in the Central Division. They've scored 259 goals and given up 206 goals for a point differential of +53. For the season they have an ATS record of 51-29-0 and an over/under record of 39-40-0. Washington has a record of 48-25-7 including 27-10-2-0 at home this season. They are 1st in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 251 goals and surrendered 232 for a goal differential of +19. Their record against the spread is 48-32-0 while their over/under record is 44-34-0.

Valuable Nashville Predators Betting Trends

The Nashville Predators are 51-29-0 straight up this year

The Nashville Predators are 39-40-0 against the over/under this season

Important Washington Capitals Betting Trends

The Washington Capitals are 48-32-0 straight up this year

The Washington Capitals are 44-34-0 against the over/under this season

Key Nashville Predators Injuries

03/16/18 C Calle Jarnkrok Upper Body is out indefinitely

Key Washington Capitals Injuries

04/04/18 RW Jay Beagle Upper Body is "?" Thursday vs Nashville
04/04/18 RW T.J. Oshie Lower Body is "?" Thursday vs Nashville

Player Spotlight

Pekka Rinne has 41 wins and 13 losses this season in net for the Predators. He has 1,817 shots against him and he's given up 133 goals. He's made 1,684 saves for a save percentage of 93%. Kevin Fiala has accumulated 48 total points this season for the Predators. He has 23 goals this year with 182 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He has a total of 25 assists on the season and averages 15.2 minutes played per game. P.K. Subban averages 24.2 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 8% by scoring 16 goals on 204 shots. He has 42 assists, giving him a total of 58 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Alex Ovechkin has scored 84 total points this year for the Capitals. He has 46 goals this season with 343 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He has a total of 38 assists on the season and averages 20.1 minutes played per game. Braden Holtby has 33 wins and 16 losses this year in goal for the Capitals. He has 1,622 shots against him and he's surrendered 150 goals. He's made 1,472 saves for a save percentage of 91%. Nicklas Backstrom averages 19.6 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 20 goals on 162 shots. He has 48 assists, giving him a total of 68 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Predators have allowed 293 power play opportunities and have given up 52 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82% this year. That is 6th in the NHL. They average 32 shots per game and as a team shoot 10.02% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 92%, which is ranked 1st in the league. The Predators has 113 total points this season, ranking 1st in the NHL in offense. They are 7th in the league with 259 goals while they've given up 206 goals, which is 29th overall. They have had 267 power play opportunities and scored 54 goals on those chances for a percentage of 20%. That is 18th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Capitals are 9th with 251 goals scored while they are 17th in the NHL with 232 goals allowed this year. They average 29 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 10.81%. They give up 32 shots per game and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them in 17th place in the league. The Capitals have a total of 103 points this year, which is 7th in the NHL. They have 53 power play goals on 237 opportunities for a percentage of 22%. That ranks their power play unit 7th. They've allowed 266 power play opportunities and have given up 51 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, which is 14th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Nashville is 10th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.5%, as they've attempted 4,769 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,669 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 50.9% as they have 3,613 attempts while they have given up 3,491 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 13th in the league. The Predators start possessions in the offensive zone 48.9% of the time, which is 24th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 51.1% for the season. That is 9th overall in the NHL. They have 2,681 face-off wins compared to 2,364 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 53.1%. That ranks them 2nd in the league. On defense Nashville has 1,615 hits and they have blocked 1,178 shots from the opposition, putting them 17th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Capitals start possessions in the offensive zone 49.5% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.5% for the year. That ranks them 19th and 12th respectively in the NHL. They have 2,406 face-off wins as opposed to 2,369 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.4%. That is 19th in the league. On defense Washington has 1,745 hits and they've blocked 1,188 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 14th in blocked shots. Washington is ranked 31st in Corsi percentage with 47.3% as they've tried 4,366 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 4,869 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 31st in the NHL at 47.2%, as they have 3,284 shots while they've given up 3,681 attempts on defense.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Washington +104

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