The Nashville Predators will head up into Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins in this Sunday's matinee matchup. Both of these teams are coming into this game on the tail end of back-to-back sets where they both lost yesterday. However, the Predators have to travel within that time while the Penguins stay in their own building. Which team will come out on top tonight? It’s time to find out as we continue our NHL odds series with a Predators-Penguins prediction and pick.
Here are the Predators-Penguins NHL Odds, Courtesy of FanDuel
NHL Odds: Predators-Penguins Odds
Nashville Predators: +1.5 (-166) (+142 ML)
Pittsburgh Penguins: -1.5 (+136) (-172 ML)
Over: 6.5 (-110)
Under: 6.5 (-110)
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Why The Predators Can Cover The Spread/Win
The Nashville Predators have been hanging around all season, but they can't get too comfortable as they are just two points ahead of the Stars and the Knights in the wild card standings. If they want to secure their spot, they'll need to start winning more games, so this is a big “prove it” kind of game for them today. With that said, the Preds have a very quick turnaround today after playing the Panthers last night so they will have very little rest. Because they played last night, backup goaltender David Rittich will get the start between the pipes tonight. He's allowing 3.24 goals per game on the season with an .890 save percentage. He'll have his work cut out for him today against an always-dangerous Penguins team.
Why The Penguins Can Cover The Spread/Win
The Pittsburgh Penguins are currently in third place in their division with only a four-point lead over the Capitals. The Pens are coming into this game after losing the Capitals yesterday but luckily remain at home for this matchup. They are playing pretty well on both sides of the ice, but haven't been stringing together wins like they are expected to be doing lately. In fact, they enter this game on a four-game losing streak and are 3-6-1 in their last 1o games. If they're not careful, they could end up sliding down to a wild card position in place of the Capitals. Starting in the net today for the Pens will be Casey DeSmith as starter Tristan Jarry just played yesterday. DeSmith is allowing 2.95 goals against per game with a save percentage of .905 percent on the season. He'll look to shut down a fatigued Predators team tonight.
Final Predators-Penguins Prediction & Pick
This is a weird pick for me because I don't love the fact that Nashville just played a game last night, had to travel here overnight, and then be ready to go this morning for an afternoon game. That's not a lot of time to rest and the Preds just might be showing it. However, the Penguins are ice cold right now, and even though they definitely have the capabilities to win this game, I don't love their odds or dead momentum. Because of that, give me the Predators to cover the puck line. The odds are better, and I don't fully trust a Moneyline bet in this game.
Final Predators-Penguins Prediction and Pick: Nashville +1.5 (-166)