If you are a big-time hockey fan or NHL bettor at MyBookie, Thursday is one of the best days of the season because every single team in the league other than the Los Angeles Kings is in action before the All-Star break begins. Nashville, a top contender in the West, makes its only visit to New Jersey. Check back for the NHL spread on game day.
How to Bet Predators at Devils NHL Spread & Game Info
When: Thursday, 7 PM ET Where: Prudential Center, Newark TV: NHL Center Ice, FSSM, MSG+ Radio: 102.5 FM (Nashville) / WFAN Sports Radio 66AM (New Jersey) Opening NHL Lines: Predators -1.5 (245)Last Season
This is the first meeting of 2017-18, with Nashville hosting the Devils on March 10. Last season, the teams split with each winning on the road. The Devils won 5-4 in overtime in the first meeting. Michael Cammalleri’s second goal of the game with 18 seconds remaining on the clock in the extra period capped New Jersey’s comeback from three goals down. Cammalleri started the Devils’ comeback from a 4-1 deficit after two as he fired a rebound into an open net 25 seconds into the third. Keith Kincaid stopped 38 shots in the win. Kevin Fiala had two goals for the Preds and Pekka Rinne gave up five goals on 22 shots. In Newark, the Predators won 5-1. James Neal scored twice in the first period, and Juuse Saros stopped 27 shots. Saros lost his bid for his first NHL shutout when Sergey Kalinin scored with 4:49 remaining. Ryan Johansen and Mattias Ekholm each had a goal and an assist, Filip Forsberg also scored and Viktor Arvidsson had three assists for the Predators. Cory Schneider finished with 32 saves for the Devils.Why Bet on Nashville?
The Predators are battling Winnipeg for the Central Division lead. Nashville completed a five-game homestand on Tuesday at 4-1 with a 4-3 overtime loss to probably the best team in hockey, Tampa Bay. Nashville allowed the tying goal on a Steven Stamkos one-time with 2:12 left in regulation. In the overtime, Yanni Gourde stripped the puck from Viktor Arvidsson in the low slot and passed to Vladistov Namestnikov, who found Gourde at the back door for an easy tap-in winner behind Predators goalie Saros. Saros stopped 27 of 31 shots and remains unbeaten in regulation over his last nine starts, boasting a 5-0-4 record during that stretch. He remains the goaltender of the future in Nashville but for now he is just Rinne’s backup. Saros is 5-3-4 with a 2.35 goals against average and a .926 save percentage. P.K. Subban posted his team-leading 35th point on Tuesday. Subban scored his 11th goal of the season during a Predators’ power play and has two goals and four assists in the last six games. Ryan Ellis scored a goal and since returning from his knee injury, Ellis has picked up five points in eight games. It should be Rinne back in there for this one. Rinne has won four straight starts and has a 23-8-3 record with three shutouts, a 2.42 GAA and a .925 save percentage. Top line forward Filip Forsberg, who has missed Nashville’s past nine games, recently has been skating with his teammates in a non-contact sweater. Nashville provided a four-to-six-week timetable Jan. 3. So Forsberg won’t play here but is getting closer.Why Bet on New Jersey?
There was no opening line because of the status of Devils No. 1 goaltender Schneider. He left with a lower-body injury after two periods of a 3-2 loss to the Bruins on Tuesday night. Schneider was injured on the Bruins second goal while trying to stretch across the crease. Immediately after the goal, which came during a 5-on-3 where he was forced to cross the crease multiple times, he was bowled over in pain. Schneider was saddled with the loss, dropping his record to 17-11-6 with a 2.79 goals against average and .913 save percentage. The Devils are already without backup Keith Kinkaid, on injured reserve because of a groin injury. Rookie Ken Appleby stopped all four shots he saw in the third period vs. Boston after stopping all 24 shots he faced in Saturday’s 3-1 loss at Philadelphia in relief of Kinkaid in his NHL debut. Hard to expect too much from Appleby if he’s forced to take the starting role. He had a below-average save percentage in the AHL this season. The Devils traded for Eddie Lack in case this scenario happened, but now he’s hurt. Appleby has never started an NHL game. He earned a training camp tryout and, ultimately, an entry-level contract after a strong showing at the Devils’ summer development camp in 2015 as an invite following his three seasons of junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League. Appleby has played for both the Devils’ AHL and ECHL affiliates over the past two-plus seasons and is 5-8-1 with a 3.21 goals-against average and an. 888 save percentage in 16 games for Binghamton (AHL) this season. “Yeah, two games in a row,” Devils captain Andy Greene said of Appleby’s solid performances. “At least in this one [against the Bruins] he had a little intermission to come in. We’re extremely confident in him. We have to be. We saw the way he handled himself the last two games he’s been in there. The Devils, who have lost three straight and are in a 2-6-3 slide, also had to play most of the first period vs. Boston without injured defensemen John Moore and Sami Vatanen, defenseman Damon Severson missed time in the third period and Marcus Johansson exited after catching Brad Marchand’s elbow to his face with 1:59 left in regulation. The other guys all returned Tuesday. The Devils did not practice on Wednesday and did not issue an update on Schneider. Nor did they update the status of Johansson.Latest NHL Spread Trends
- Nashville is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games
- Nashville is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Nashville’s last 9 games
- New Jersey is 7-15 ATS in its last 22 games at home
- New Jersey is 2-9 SU in its last 11 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Jersey’s last 5 games
