Nashville Predators vs Washington Capitals Prediction, 12/29/2021 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Nashville Predators vs Washington Capitals

Date: Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Location: Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

TV: NBC Sports Washington

Odds/Point Spread: Predators (+126) Capitals (-152)

The Nashville Predators (19-10-1) are traveling to Capital One Arena on Wednesday where they will attempt to defeat the Washington Capitals (18-6-7). The moneyline on this game has the Predators at +126 and the Capitals open at -152. The over/under is set at 6.

The Nashville Predators had a good night with a 3-2 victory over the Blackhawks in their previous outing. Nashville recorded 10 penalty minutes in this contest. The Predators had a middle of the road offensive output in the win. In addition, they had 5 chances with the advantage and scored 2 goals. For the matchup, they netted 3 out of the 31 shots they tried.

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The Predators have had 876 shots attempted against them and hold a save percentage of .910. When playing at even strength, the Predators have allowed the opponent to score 59 goals while getting 66 on offense. Nashville Predators opponents have earned 97 power play tries (3rd in professional hockey) and have come away with 20 goals in those attempts. For the current season, they have 39 points and their points percentage sits at .650. Nashville has taken 899 shots and holds a shot percentage of 9.8%. When talking about scoring goals, the Nashville Predators have notched 88 goals (15th in the league) this season and have given up 79. Nashville comes into the game with 86 power play opportunities and they have tallied 22 goals during those chances, giving them a rate of 25.58%.

Patrolling the crease for the game will be Juuse Saros. Saros has taken the ice for 179 games over the course of his pro hockey career. He has an overall record of 91-55-18 and he started in 163 games. Opponents have scored 413 goals versus Saros in his pro career and his goals against average is 2.46. Saros has seen 5,220 shots against him and he has 4,807 saves. He has a save percentage of .921 in his 10,088 mins on the ice. In his career, Saros has 103 quality starts and his quality starts percentage is .632.

In their last contest, Washington squared up with the Kings in a game where the Capitals ended up taking the loss by a tally of 3-2. The Capitals tallied 2 goals of the 35 shots on goal they took. They had 6 opportunities on the power play in this contest but weren't able to put one in the back of the net.

The Capitals have scored 92 goals at even strength and 14 goals (21st in the NHL) while having more men on the ice. Washington has put up 994 shots (10th in professional hockey) and has earned a shot percentage of 10.66%, while allowing the other team 889 shots. For the season, the Washington Capitals have earned a total of 106 goals, 43 points, in addition to a points percentage of .694. They have a total of 90 chances on the power play and they have accumulated a power play rate of 15.56%. They have recorded a penalty kill percentage of 81.01% on their opponents 79 power play chances, and their save percentage is 91.0%. They have permitted 80 goals to be scored by of a combination of 65 goals at even strength and 15 goals while they were shorthanded.

Across the ice you will find Ilya Samsonov defending the net. His opponents are averaging 2.62 goals per game and he has yielded 149 goals in total. Samsonov's percentage of quality starts comes out to 46.3% and he has qualified for 25 quality starts in his pro career. He has started in 54 games and has been on the ice for 3,413 minutes. Samsonov is the owner of a lifetime mark of 40-12-5 and has been in goal for 61 contests. He has gathered 1,481 saves out of 1,630 shots taken, which gives him a save percentage of .909.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Nashville (+126)

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