Liontips
Nashville vs. Pittsburgh: NHL Match Prediction
Nashville will try to extend its winning streak on December 20. The Preds are still tied for last place in the conference with Chicago, which is not good for the guys from Tennessee. The Penguins have joined the fight for a playoff spot, but they can’t stop. The visitors are doing well on offense, but they have a lot of problems playing in their own zone. Who will get the important points? Read our prediction
Command Analysis
Nashville Predators
USACurrent form
Nashville is still in the basement of the conference table and has only 24 points after 32 games. The team from Tennessee has shown rather weak results throughout the season and cannot produce a long winning streak. The Preds just recently lost eight games in a row, but after that they unexpectedly won in Texas against the local Dallas (4:1), but a day later they were routed by Colorado in Denver (2:5). Returning home, Andrew Brunette charges beat the Rangers dry (2:0), who are currently going through hard times and are in even worse shape than the hosts.
Juuse Saros got his third shutout against the Cops, but the goalie numbers are hardly outstanding. On average, the Finnish goalie lets in 2.63 goals per game, while saving a modest 91.08% of shots. The Predators clearly lack reliability in this regular season. They let in 3.06 goals per game during the season, but they still play a little more reliably in Tennessee.
Roman Josi team was left without their captain, who was injured. The Swiss is still the club top scorer with 23 points (7+16) to his name. Filip Forsberg, who has 22 scoring actions (9+13), will try to improve his position.
Disqualifications and injuries
Alexandre Carrier, Roman Josi and Jeremy Lauzon will not play in the next match.
Interesting trends for betting
- Nashville wins 52.2% of faceoffs
The Predators are strong in this component and take the majority of faceoffs.
- The Predators are getting 8.63 penalty minutes.
Nashville is not known for its good discipline and usually gets sent off at least four times per game.
Pittsburgh Penguins
USACurrent form
Pittsburgh has quietly found itself on the edge of the playoff zone, although the quality of the visitors' play still raises big questions. The club from Pennsylvania is in ninth place in the East, having scored 33 points in 31 games. The Petes have seriously improved at the end of autumn and have won seven of the previous ten games, losing one game in overtime. In the last away series, Sidney Crosby team crushed Montreal (9:2), but could not finish off Ottawa (2:3, OT). After returning home from Canada, the Penguins barely won against Los Angeles (3:2, OT). Mike Sullivan charges came back twice during regulation time and put an end to the game in the second minute of overtime.
The "petes" have no serious problems in terms of converting moments, but their defense suffers greatly. The "Penguins" are the most conceding team in the conference with 123 goals in this column. After a long break, Alex Nedeljkovic appeared in goal, who had a terrible start to the season. Now the goalie has 88.64% of shots and not a single shutout in 14 starts.
Sidney Crosby is not the first time in his career that he leads the list of Pittsburgh top scorers. The captain has 31 participations in his team goals (8+23) and mostly assists his teammates. He is followed by Evgeni Malkin with 26 points (7+19) in the goal+pass system.
Disqualifications and injuries
Marcus Pettersson will not travel to Tennessee with the team.
Interesting trends for betting
- Pittsburgh averages 6.91 penalty minutes
The Penguins show good discipline and don't get sent off too often out of the blue.
- Pittsburgh has a 26-36 first-half goal-scoring record
The "Pits" have a weak start and often give up the advantage.
Trends
Bet 1st period: total under 1.5 goals
In the last two games involving Pittsburgh, the first period was not productive
1.95Bet 3rd period: Pittsburgh will score
The Petes have scored in the third period for three straight games.
1.50Tip and bets
Nashville lacks offensive sharpness, and after the injury of leading scorer Roman Josi, scoring will be even more difficult. The Preds do not always act reliably in their half of the court and often rely on Juuse Saros, who is not able to reflect all shots on goal. Pittsburgh is bad in defense, but the visitors are doing well in scoring at this stage of the season. The Petes are in better shape and should take two points from Tennessee. We suggest betting on a victory for the visitors with a zero handicap.
Prediction - Pittsburgh win with Asian handicap (0) for 2.20
Bet on individual total
On average this season, Nashville concedes more than three times per game and plays slightly better defense at home. Pittsburgh has gained great momentum and is clearly converting its chances, and leaders Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby are in excellent shape. We believe that the visitors will put pressure on the Preds' goal and will be able to score at least three times.
We bet on Pittsburgh individual total over 2.5 goals with odds of 1.80
Total Bet
Matches involving Nashville are rarely productive. The team currently remains the lowest scoring team in the league and, as a rule, cannot break down the opponent defense more than twice. However, on home ice, it also lets in a few goals in return. We think that the meeting will not be very productive.
We take the total under six goals with a coefficient of 1.70
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