NHL Odds: Devils-Predators prediction, pick, how to watch

Another intriguing inter-conference matchup is on the docket for Thursday evening as the red-hot New Jersey Devils battle it out with the Nashville Predators in “Music City”. Without further ado, let’s take a look at our NHL odds series, where our Devils-Predators prediction and pick will be made.

After yet another overtime victory by the Devils this time coming against Vegas, New Jersey new finds themselves knocking on the door of the top spot of the Metropolitan Division standings as they sit only two points back of the first-place Carolina Hurricanes. As a whole, the Devils have won eight of their last ten games overall and appear to be like a locomotive that is full speed ahead with no plans of slowing down anytime soon.

On the other side of things, the Predators are attempting to stay afloat in the Western Conference playoff picture and are fresh off of a decisive victory over the Winnipeg Jets by a score of 2-1. All in all, Nashville has taken care of business of late as they have ben victorious in four out of their previous five games after losing three matchups in a row prior to that.

Here are the Devils-Predators NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel

NHL Odds: Devils-Predators Odds

New Jersey Devils: -1.5 (+184)

Nashville Predators: +1.5 (-230)

Over: 6 (-112)

Under: 6 (-108)

How To Watch Devils vs. Predators

TV: ESPN+

Stream: ESPN+

Time: 8:00 ET/6:00 PT

*Watch NHL games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Devils Could Cover The Spread

After compiling a far below-average 27-46-9 record only a season ago, the Devils have made one of the more impressive turnarounds in the NHL this year. In fact, New Jersey already has more wins under their belts than they did all of last year at the halfway point of the 2022-2-23 regular season and are on a mission to make some noise in the Eastern Conference.

At first glance, the Devils have also been fairly lethal when it comes to their ability in covering the spread as they sit with a 26-21 ATS thus far this year. A big reason why New Jersey has been so effective in this area is because of their speedy ways to jump out to an early lead thanks to an electrifying offense that averages just a shade below 3.50 goals per game. Without a doubt, the Devils possess some skaters that boast more speed than a time-traveling DeLorean and often times leaves the opposition speechless.

Taking a closer look, the most dynamic element of New Jersey’s game happens to be in the form of their top center in Jack Hughes who leads the club in goals, assists, and total points. Alas, Hughes is playing at a level that is currently near there tops of the NHL and will be hard to slow down for a Predators defense that has remained consistently inconsistent so far this season.

Not to mention, but few teams boast as productive of a defensive unit like the one the Devils have, as forcing giveaways has become a main ingredient for their success. If New Jersey is able to jump out to an early lead, then be on the lookout for this defense to deliver the fatal blow and out the clamps down on Nashville’s scoring ability.

Why The Predators Could Cover The Spread

On paper, Nashville excels the most however on the defensive end of the ice where the ‘Preds only allow 19% of power-plays to result in a score. Not only could this be a contributing factor in whether or not the Predators are able to find a way to cover the spread later this evening, but the same could be said whenever Nashville is granted with the extra-man advantage as well.

Believe it or not, even though the Predators do kill of penalties to near perfection, they have struggled mightily in finding ways to score on power plays as they rank within the bottom five of the league when it comes to converting on such opportunities. In fact, this happened to be Nashville’s downfall in their most recent loss a week ago against the Blues in which they ended up going 0-4 on the penalty attack.

While failing epically again on the power play may cost the Predators yet again, don’t sleep on the fact that Nashville possesses a goalie that can be a lethal option in net when clicking on all cylinders. Introducing Juuse Saros, who despite often struggling with inconsistent play, has posted a solid 18-13-5 record while stopping 92% of the shots headed his way. Most recently, Saros held the Winnipeg Jets to one goal and was the main reason why Nashville was able to steal a victory in front of their home fans. Alas, making sure that Saros feels as comfortable a possible could result in another clutch performance from the net-minder en route to covering the spread.

Final Devils-Predators Prediction & Pick

Without a doubt, both of these teams certainly has what it takes to make a deep playoff run a few months from now, but the way the Devils have been playing lately, they will be nearly impossible to slow down once again in tonight’s inter-conference matchup.

Final Devils-Predators Prediction & Pick: Devils -1.5 (+184)