The Minnesota Wild (7-6-2) head to take on the Nashville Predators (6-8-1) at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday.Minnesota is coming off a 3-2 shootout loss against the Sharks on Sunday. Frederick Gaudreau and Connor Dewar each scored once for the Wild. Filip Gustavsson saved an impressive 35 of 37 shots (.945%) in the loss.
Nashville beat the Rangers 2-1 on Saturday. Mark Jankowski and Juuso Parssinen each scored once for the Predators. Juuse Saros was impressive in the win, making 34 saves (.971%).
HEAD TO HEAD
The Predators won three of the four games between the teams last season, although the Wild were 5-4 (OT) victors in their final meeting in April. Joel Eriksson Ek led Minnesota with three points (2G 1A).
Filip Forsberg (1G 2A) and Mikael Granlund (0G 3A) each had three points to lead Nashville. Marc-Andre Fleury got the win despite saving only 21 of 25 shots (.840%).
FACING OFF
Minnesota is averaging 2.73 goals per game for the season, 24th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Predators team that is allowing 3.33 goals a game (21st). Meanwhile, Nashville has found the net 2.60 times a game on average, 30th in the league, and the Wild are allowing opponents to score 2.93 goals per game (13th).
Power play opportunities should be plentiful for the Predators, as the Wild are averaging 5.13 penalties per game, third-most in the NHL. The visitors’ 14.40 penalty minutes a game ranks second-highest. The home team has been penalized 4.47 times a game (14th) for an average of 11.40 minutes (10th).
The Predators’ 14.29% power play percentage is the fourth-worst in the league, while the Wild rank ninth with a conversion rate of 24.49%. When it comes to penalty killing, Nashville has the league’s ninth-ranked PK% at 81.82%, while Minnesota is 10th at 81.63%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 17 points this season, Kirill Kaprizov is the top skater for the Wild. He is among the league leaders with 10 goals (5th) and has added seven assists. In the net, Fleury (6-3-1) is Minnesota’s top goaltender. He has a 2.87 GAA and a .905% save percentage.
Forsberg leads the Predators in scoring with 15 points. He has five goals and 10 assists in 15 games. Kevin Lankinen (2-2-0) has the best goals against average for Nashville at 2.60.
He has a save percentage of .921%. Saros (4-6-1) has played the most games in net for the Predators this season. He has a 3.22 GAA and a .901% save percentage.
HOME AND AWAY
Minnesota is 5-2-1 on the road this season. Nashville is 3-3-1 at home this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Minnesota Wild (-115)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.