Face-off: 1900 ET, 12/02/2022
Arena: Bridgestone Arena
Nashville will quickly look to get things back on track when Winnipeg continue their road trip tonight.
Both teams suffered defeats in Dallas in their last outings – the Predators going down 4-3 on Wednesday, while the Jets slipped to a 4-3 overtime loss last night.
That should lean in Nashville’s favour as the Jets go back-to-back, so in the first of our NHL predictions, we think the Predators will win with over 6.5 goals at 3.25.
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Nashville Predators Odds
Nashville saw their five-game point streak come to an end with the Central Division defeat to Dallas and will quickly hope to put things right.
The Predators have won their last three on home ice – and that included a 5-2 win over Winnipeg on January 20.
They will be keen to stay out of the box, though, after gifting the Stars six powerplay opportunities, with Dallas cashing in twice.
Coach John Hynes will be looking for more discipline and wants his team to get back to basics.
He said: “We have an identity that we want to be able to play with and we didn’t do that consistently enough.
“We want to be able to play a consistent game and a brand of hockey that gives us a chance to win every night, and we didn’t do that.
“I thought we played a volatile game, undisciplined, and we beat ourselves.
“We gave up nine odd-man rushes – I think there were five 3-on-2’s, two 2-on-1’s, two breakaways – that’s not a recipe to success.
“That’s not the way we want to play. It’s not what our identity is.”
Home comforts should help to get things back on track and the Predators to win the first period and both teams to score in that section at 8.25 is another selection from the NHL odds.
Winnipeg Jets Odds
Winnipeg have now won only two of their last 10 outings and their slim hopes of reaching the post-season are quickly sliding away.
They are nine points out of the second wildcard spot and, although they have games in hand, they have to start winning and winning fast.
Centre Jansen Harkins was left frustrated by the late defeat in Dallas that saw a divisional rival claim an extra point that could prove to be crucial down the stretch.
Harkins said: “I think we were pretty resilient all night, just sticking with it. It’s just disappointing.”
The Jets cannot reflect too hard on that reverse and quickly need to turn their attention to the Predators.
Interim head coach Dave Lowry hopes they have learned a lesson and can stifle Nashville’s attempts to get set up in the Jets’ zone.
He added: “I think we got ourselves in a little bit of trouble just by not getting pucks in deep. And we fuelled their transition game, allowed them to get some momentum.”
The overtime period on top of back-to-back games will play against Winnipeg, though.
Let’s finish off our Nashville Predators vs Winnipeg Jets predictions with the hosts to win the third period by more than one clear goal at 4.10.
Additional stats
Last result:
Dallas 4-3 NASHVILLE
Dallas 4-3 WINNIPEG (OT)
Head-to-head: Nashville 5-2 Winnipeg, Winnipeg 6-4 Nashville
