Nashville Predators vs Toronto Maple Leafs Predictions, NHL Picks 3/12/2020

Game: Nashville Predators vs Toronto Maple Leafs

Date: Thursday, March 12, 2020

Location: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON

TV: TSN4

Odds/Point Spread: Predators (+136) Maple Leafs (-150)

Total/Over-Under: 6.5

Frederik Andersen and the Toronto Maple Leafs (36-25-9, 3rd in the Atlantic Division) host the Nashville Predators (35-26-8, 4th in the Central Division) at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday, March 12, 2020. The Maple Leafs open this matchup at -150 while the Predators are coming in at +136. The O/U opens at 6.5. The Predators cover 48.5% of the time, having gone 32-34 SU. Toronto is covering 50.7% of the time, going 35-34 straight up.

The Nashville Predators head into this matchup holding a record of 35 victories and 26 defeats, putting them at 4th in the Central Division. During the season thus far, they have scored a total of 212 goals which ranks them 7th in the Western Conference and 16th in the league. Their goal differential is -2, putting them at 20th in the league. The Predators have earned a total of 78 points, which ranks them 18th in the league and 7th in the Western Conference. With regard to shots at the opposing goalie, they have earned a total of 2,287 which ranks them 2nd in the Western Conference and 4th in the league. As a group, Nashville currently has a total of 1,102 hits which has them averaging 16 per game. They have earned a total of 870 blocks for the season. Looking after the net for Nashville is Pekka Rinne from Kempele, Finland. He is 37 years old and has racked up 1,988 mins in goal this season. Rinne is surrendering an average of 3.17 goals per contest which ranks him 29th among West goalies and 56th among goaltenders in the NHL. So far this season, he's surrendered 105 goals. He's earned a save percentage of .895 which ranks him 30th among West goalies.

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The Nashville Predators went home feeling good about their game by earning a 4 - 2 win against the Montreal Canadiens their last time out. The Predators had a solid offensive performance and it showed in this win. In this outing, they earned a goal on 4 of the 36 shots they looked to score on. Additionally, they had 4 power play opportunities and notched 1 goal out of those chances. Nashville ended up with 4 penalty mins in this matchup. The Corsi for the Predators was 41 and the Corsi against was 62 giving them a Corsi percentage of 39.8%. Their Fenwick sat at 37 while the Fenwick against sat at 37, which means they had a rate of 50.0%. They won 26 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 18 of all total face-offs. The offensive zone starts for them were rated at 43.2% and they had a PDO of 102.7 for this game. With regard to the opposition's stats, the Montreal Canadiens racked up 34 shots. Their total at the end of the game was 8 minutes in the box and they tallied 2 power play chances.

The Maple Leafs will be the team on the other side of the ice and for the current year they have 36 wins and 25 defeats. When talking about goal differential, they are currently sitting 7th in the Eastern Conference and 9th in the league with +15. They currently have a total of 237 goals for the year which is 2nd in the conference. Toronto has a save percentage as a team of .901 which is good for 19th in the league, meaning scoring chances could present themselves. They have a shooting percentage of 10.3% which is good for 5th in the Eastern Conference. In goal for Toronto is Frederik Andersen who is having a marginal year by surrendering 2.85 goals per contest and that places him 18th in the East and 37th among goaltenders in the NHL. In the 3,007 mins he's played this year, he's surrendered 143 goals. His save percentage is .909, which has him ranking 17th in the East and 36th among goaltenders in the NHL.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs faced off against the Tampa Bay Lightning in a matchup where the Maple Leafs earned a victory by a mark of 2 - 1. For this game, Toronto went home with a 50.5% Corsi rating. They earned that percentage by having a Corsi of 50 while the opposition earned a Corsi of 49. Their Fenwick rate came in at 53.9% by way of having a Fenwick of 41 and the Lightning ending the game with a 35 Fenwick at even strength. These Corsi stats speak to the kind of game that Toronto played and it could be said that this team has had better games. Their PDO at even strength was 95.7 and their percentage of oZS was 66.0%. The Maple Leafs notched 2 goals out of the 36 shots on goal they attempted. They had 5 power play chances in this game and converted 2 out of those tries. Concerning their opponent, the Lightning had 4 power play chances but didn't tally a goal. Toronto gave way to 33 shots on goal and the Lightning ended up with a total of 10 penalty mins.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Josh's Pick: Take Nashville (+136)

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