Adam Williams presents his prediction for the NHL match.
The New York Rangers are again considered favourites for this game, but they have not won a single outing at Madison Square Garden in seven attempts this season, and the visit of the Nashville Predators will certainly cause problems for the Rangers.
New York Rangers
Moreover, the New York Rangers have only earned one point, meaning they could not even force overtime. Including the pre-season, this poor run now spans ten games. Were they only facing title contenders? Not at all. They recently suffered a heavy derby defeat to the New York Islanders (0:5), who are not even in a Wild Card spot, and in late October they lost to the San Jose Sharks (5:6 OT). Surprisingly, on the road, they have seven wins in nine games!
Nashville Predators
This could be a chance to end the home-ice drought. The Nashville Predators come in on a four-game losing streak, three of those at home. Twice the visitors scored four goals, but that still was not enough to win. As a result, they sit 14th in the Western Conference. Away from home, the Nashville Predators also have a negative record (1-3-2).
New York Rangers vs Nashville Predators Prediction
It is difficult to choose when both opponents are losing regularly. We will take a different route. Both teams generally struggle to score (2.53 goals scored for the Nashville Predators and 2.19 for the New York Rangers), and especially on the power play (15.1% for the Predators, 12.2% for the Rangers), which puts them near the bottom of the league. The Nashville Predators’ starting goaltender Juuse Saros (2.88 goals allowed) should be in net, and together with any New York Rangers goaltender (2.50) this points towards a winning bet on the under 5.5 goals line. Three of the last four head-to-head meetings finished this way.
