Nashville Predators vs. Boston Bruins - 12/21/19 NHL Picks, Odds, and Prediction

Game: Nashville Predators vs Boston Bruins

Date: Saturday, December 21, 2019

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: NESN

Odds/Point Spread: Predators (+153) Bruins (-170)

Total/Over-Under: 6

Tuukka Rask and the Boston Bruins (21-7-8, 1st in the Atlantic Division) host the Nashville Predators (16-12-6, 6th in the Central Division) at TD Garden on Saturday, December 21, 2019. The Bruins open this contest at -170 while the Predators are coming in at +153. The over/under has been set at 6. The Predators cover 45.5% of the time, having gone 15-18 SU. The Bruins cover 58.3% of the time, going 21-15 straight up.

The Nashville Predators head into this game holding a record of 16 victories and 12 defeats, putting them at 6th in the Central Division. During the season thus far, they have racked up a total of 118 goals which has them sitting at 2nd in the West and 4th in the league. Their goal differential is +9, putting them at 11th in the league. The Predators currently have a total of 38 pts, which has them sitting at 20th in the league and 10th in the Western Conference. Regarding shots toward the net, they currently have a total of 1,145 which has them sitting at 5th in the Western Conference and 11th in the league. As a group, Nashville currently has a total of 533 hits which has them averaging 15.7 per contest. They currently have a total of 408 blocks for the year. The man in the crease for Nashville is Pekka Rinne from Kempele, Finland. He is 37 years old and has totaled 1,064 minutes protecting the net for the season. Rinne is conceding 2.99 goals per contest which places him at 21st in the Western Conference and 42nd among goaltenders in the NHL. During this year, he's surrendered 53 goals. He's earned a save percentage of .894 which places him at 26th in the Western Conference.

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The Nashville Predators will look to clean up some issues after taking a 5 - 4 defeat against the Ottawa Senators in their previous contest. The Predators had a good offensive performance and it was apparent in the defeat. For this game, they earned a goal on 4 out of the 37 shots they put on goal. Additionally, they had 2 power play opportunities and were able to net 1 goal out of those chances. Nashville racked up 8 penalty mins in this outing. The Corsi for the Predators was 67 and the Corsi against was 58 which earned them a Corsi percentage of 53.6%. Their Fenwick was 46 while the Fenwick against sat at 38, meaning they had a Fenwick percentage of 54.8%. They took 37 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 31 tries to control the puck. The offensive zone starts for them were rated at 65.6% and they had a PDO of 98.8 in this game. With regard to the opposition's stats, the Ottawa Senators earned 24 shots. They had a total of 4 penalty minutes and they had 4 power play chances.

The Bruins will be on the other side of the ice and for the season they sit with 21 wins and 7 defeats. With reference to goal differential, they are currently ranked 1st in the conference and 1st in the league with +32. They have compiled a total of 120 goals for the season which ranks 2nd in the conference. Boston has a save % as a team of .920 which currently has them ranked 4th in the league, meaning scoring chances may be limited. They are shooting 10.5% which puts them at 4th in the conference. In goal for Boston is Tuukka Rask who is having a marginal season by surrendering 2.29 goals per contest and that has him ranked 4th in the Eastern Conference and 8th in the NHL among goalies. In the 1,335 minutes he's been on the ice, he has given up 51 goals. He holds a save percentage of .922, which puts him at 7th in the Eastern Conference and 14th in the NHL among goalies.

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The Boston Bruins faced off against the New York Islanders in a game where the Bruins took a loss by a tally of 3 - 2. In this matchup, Boston had a 53.7% Corsi rating. They earned that percentage by having a Corsi of 44 while their opponent had a Corsi of 38. Their Fenwick rate came in at 50.0% by way of having a Fenwick of 32 and the Islanders having a 32 Fenwick. This Corsi rating tells us the kind of game Boston played and the stats tell us that they didn't play well overall. They had a PDO of 93.4 and they finished the game with an oZS percentage of 65.7%. The Bruins converted 2 goals of the 29 shots on goal they were seeking. They had 5 power play opportunities in this outing and scored 1 out of those chances. On the other side of the ice, the Islanders had 2 power play attempts but weren't able to put the puck in the net. Boston conceded 21 shots on goal and the Islanders had a total of 10 penalty minutes.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Nashville (+153)

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