Blues vs. Predators Game 4 Pick
Can the St. Louis Blues even up their NHL Playoff series with the Nashville Predators when the two meet in Game 4 tonight at 9:30PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Predators are favored at home tonight, as they are getting odds of -165 to win. St. Louis is listed with +145 odds to prevail. The over/under total for the game is listed at 5 goals.
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Nashville established a 2-1 lead in this series with a 3-1 win at home in Game 3 on Sunday. The Predators have now won five of eight meetings with the Blues this season. Nashville is 47-30-12 overall and 27-9-8 at home while St. Louis is 51-32-7 overall and 25-18-2 on the road.
The Predators had a steady performance at home on Sunday, out-shooting St. Louis 34-23. The Preds also cut their penalty minutes down from Game 2, amassing just 8 for the contest. They also had a 39-24 edge in faceoffs. All of that played into a comfortable win in Game 3. Ryan Ellis, Cody McLeod and Roman Josi each found the net for the Predators while Pekka Rinne made 22 saves in the victory.
The only game St. Louis has taken in this series was Game 2, where Nashville found itself in the penalty box for 23 minutes of action. At full strength, the Predators are looking like the better team. They are winning faceoffs and creating more scoring opportunities than St. Louis. I expect that to continue in Game 4. The Predators seem to be the only team that can slow themselves down.
NHL PLAYOFFS PREDICTION: NASHVILLE PREDATORS -165