NBCSN’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with the Wednesday Night Hockey matchup between the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.
The Nashville Predators’ recent play and the law of averages should counteract their curious trend as a heavy betting favorite.
The Predators are the -185 road favorite on the NHL odds with the Chicago Blackhawks coming back as a +155 home underdog, while there is a 6-goal total for their Wednesday night matchup at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Thanks in part to a tailspin earlier in the season, the Predators are 0-5 in their last five road games as a favorite of -150 to -500 on the NHL moneyline, but they are 4-1 in their last five games. Nashville, which will play the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, is also 12-8 in its last 20 games when it also has a game the following day. The Blackhawks are 3-7 in their last 10 games as a home underdog according to the OddsShark NHL Database.
The Predators are 26-15-3 on the season, which includes an 11-8-3 away record. Nashville has scored 16 goals across its past four games without being overly reliant on one hot line, as right wings Craig Smith (four goals in four games) and Viktor Arvidsson (three) have led the way. Twelve of the Predators’ 22 away games have gone OVER this season and they would seem to have an optimal matchup against a team with the 29th-ranked defensive record.
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Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne is 16-10-2 with a 2.23 goals-against average and .921 save percentage, and was not overworked during his last start, recording an 18-save shutout against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday.
The Blackhawks are 16-22-7 on the season, including 8-10-4 on home ice at the United Center. Chicago is a respectable 7-4-2 over its 13 most recent games, and is still in the middle of the pack offensively, with contributors such as center Jonathan Toews and right wing Patrick Kane leading an attack that is 17th in the league with 2.9 goals per game, not far behind Nashville in 12th with 3.0.
The total has gone OVER in 11 of the Blackhawks’ 22 home games at online betting sites, with one push. The total has gone OVER in five of Nashville’s last seven games as a road favorite of -150 to -500 on the NHL moneyline. The total has gone OVER in seven of Chicago’s last 10 home games as the underdog.
For more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week’s top sports betting news check out the OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify or listen to it at OddsShark.libsyn.com.