Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Nashville Predators Prediction, Preview, and Odds

The Pittsburgh Penguins will go on the road and take on the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena. The Penguins have a record of 29-21-9 on the season. Nashville has a record of 29-22-6. These two teams faced each other twice last season with each team winning one matchup. The puck drops at 8 PM EST.

Penguins Win Two Straight

Pittsburgh had an odd of -110 in their last game and they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-3. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Brian Dumoulin each scored a goal and had an assist. Kris Letang, Jeff Petry, and Marcus Pettersson each had two assists. Casey DeSmith stopped 26 out of 29 shots faced.

The Penguins have been struggling a bit on offense recently. Pittsburgh scored two or fewer goals in five of their last 10 games. They rank 13 in goals per game and fifth in shots per game. Sidney Crosby leads the team with 71 points. Evgeni Malkin has 62 points. Jake Guentzel has 24 goals and 28 assists.

The defense has been very poor and goaltending has been less than average for the Penguins. They rank 19 in goals against per game and 29 in shots against per game. Tristan Jarry has a record of 17-7-5 with a 2.79 GAA and .917 SV%. Casey DeSmith has a record of 11-12-4 with a 3.27 GAA and .904 SV%.

Pittsburgh is fifth in the Metropolitan division and they currently hold a Wild Card spot. It is a six-team race between the Islanders, Penguins, Sabres, Red Wings, Panthers, and Capitals to grab the two Wild Card spots. Five points or less separate all six teams.

Predators Win Three Straight

Nashville was a -165 favorite in their previous game and they covered the -1.5-puck line by defeating the Arizona Coyotes 6-2. Roman Josi scored twice and had an assist. Matt Duchene and Thomas Novak each scored a goal and had two assists. Yakov Trenin and Cody Glass each scored a goal and had an assist. Juuse Saros stopped 25 out of 27 shots faced.

Nashville has been playing well on offense recently. The Preds scored five or more goals in four of the last five games. They rank 24 in goals per game and 20 in shots per game. Matt Duchene has 49 points and Filip Forsberg has 42 points. Forsberg is dealing with an upper-body injury, which has caused him to miss eight straight games. He is questionable for this matchup. Duchene has recorded one or more points in seven out of the last 10 games.

The defense has been poor and goaltending has been about average for the Preds. They rank 13 in goals against per game and 26 in shots against per game. Juuse Saros has a record of 23-16-5 with a 2.80 GAA and .916 SV%. Kevin Lankinen has a record of 6-5-1 with a 2.70 GAA and .919 SV%. Roman Josi leads the team with 54 points. Josi has recorded one or more points in nine of his last 10 games. He is tied for sixth in points, tied for second in goals, and tied for seventh in assists among all defensemen in the league.

Nashville is currently fifth in the Central division and they are six points back from the final Wild Card spot. Nashville will need their offense to continue to play well and they will need to stay hot in order to have a chance of making the postseason.

Best Bets

Full-Game Side Bet

Rating:

Pittsburgh has had Nashville’s number in recent meetings. The Pens are 7-2-1 in their last 10 matchups against the Preds. Nashville has been poor on offense this season. They rank 24th in goals per game and 20th in shots per game. The Preds will not be able to take advantage of a Penguins team that struggles on defense and has received less-than-average goaltending this season. In the last 10 meetings between these two teams, Pittsburgh averages 3.40 goals per game, and Nashville averages 2.10 goals per game. With a lot of success against Nashville and fighting to make the playoffs, Pittsburgh will win this matchup.

Take Pittsburgh on the money line.

Prediction: Pittsburgh Penguins (-110)

Full-Game Total Pick

Rating:

Both teams are struggling on offense. The Preds rank 24th in goals per game and 20th in shots per game. Pittsburgh scored two or fewer goals in five of their last 10 games. The under has hit in 18 of Pittsburgh’s 30 road games this season. The under has hit in six of the last 10 matchups between the two teams. The total has gone under in four of Pittsburgh's last six games when playing on the road against Nashville. This will be a lower-scoring game and the under will hit.

Take the under, six goals.

Prediction: Under 6

Growing up, James was fascinated with watching sports, especially football, and basketball. This led to an interest in research and stats for fantasy sports, which quickly led to a successful career as a sports bettor. His passion has produced multiple tournament wins with generous earnings and he has combined that with his talented writing skills to join our team here at StatSalt. James graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Business and has used his overall knowledge of sports betting to make him one to follow each and every day.