The Vancouver Canucks and the Nashville Predators meet Friday in Game 6 Western Conference NHL Playoffs action at the Bridgestone Arena. Here’s a Nashville Predators vs Vancouver Canucks Prediction.
Game Five Recap: Nashville Stays Alive
The Nashville Predators managed to live to fight for one more day after making the series 3-2 heading back home thanks to a 2-1 win in game five. There was no scoring through the first two periods, meaning both teams saved the best for the final frame and Nikita Zadorov delivered with the Canucks’ opening goal 3:11 into the final period. Roman Josi responded for Nashville just over four minutes later and Alex Carrier would break the deadlock just 5:31 after that, handing the Preds the win and forcing a game six as a result. Juuse Saros got the win after stopping 19 of 20 shots faced in the winning effort while Arturs Silovs gave up 2 goals on 22 shots faced in the loss for the Canucks.
Vancouver Canucks Player Stats
J.T. Miller leads the Canucks in scoring with 103 points including 37 goals and 66 assists while Elias Pettersson has 89 points with 34 goals and 55 assists. Quinn Hughes has 92 points with a team-high 75 assists and Brock Boeser has 73 points with a team-high 40 goals and 33 assists. Thatcher Demko’s gone 35-14-2 with a 2.45 GAA and a .918 save percentage in goal for Vancouver while Casey DeSmith is 12-9-6 with a 2.89 GAA and an .896 save percentage this season.
Vancouver Canucks Team Facts
- The Canucks have won each of their last five games as underdogs against the Predators.
- The Canucks have covered the puck line in each of their last eight games against the Predators following a loss.
- The Canucks have lost the third period in five of their last six games as underdogs following a home loss.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in 18 of the Canucks’ last 24 games as underdogs.
Nashville Predators Player Stats
Filip Forsberg leads the Predators in scoring with 94 points including a team-high 48 goals and 46 assists while Ryan O’Reilly has 69 points with 26 goals of his own and 43 assists. Gustav Nyquist has 75 points with 52 assists while Roman Josi has 85 points of his own with a team-leading 62 assists. Juuse Saros has made 63 starts in goal for Nashville this season, going 35-24-5 with a 2.86 GAA and a .906 save percentage while Kevin Lankinen is 11-6 with a 2.93 GAA and a .908 save percentage this season.
Nashville Predators Team Facts
- The underdogs have won each of the Predators’ last four games.
- The underdogs have covered the puck line in 10 of the last 11 games between the Canucks and Predators at Bridgestone Arena.
- The Predators have won the third period in eight of their last nine games at Bridgestone Arena following a road win.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 3′ market has hit in 22 of the Predators’ last 23 home games against Western Conference opponents.
Nashville Predators vs Vancouver Canucks Prediction
I’m on the under in this one. For the most part, this has been an under series and I think whichever way it goes, that theme continues. Nashville’s best way to stay in this series is to play defensive and force Vancouver into a more physical style of play, but that’s because Nashville’s offense has been non-existent at times in this series. These two teams also haven’t been taking many shots as it’s really been a possession-based series. Give me the under in a first-to-3 wins game six.