Minnesota vs. Nashville: NHL Match Prediction
On January 1, Minnesota will play its second home game in a row and will try to please the home stands. This time, its opponent will be Nashville, which has previously shown itself to be quite good. Previous meetings between the clubs were held in equal struggle, but often ended in favor of the home team. What bet should be made on the upcoming confrontation? You will find out about this from the forecast

Command Analysis

Minnesota Wild

Current form
Minnesota is still in the top three of the Western Conference, but its position may worsen in the near future, especially if it continues to show similar results. Let us recall that for a long period of time the team has not been able to get on a long winning streak and is limited to one or two victories in a row. Not long ago, it suffered a crushing defeat from Winnipeg (0:5) on the road, after which it dealt with Chicago (4:3) and Dallas (3:2 OT), but in the final confrontation with Ottawa it again lost with a score of 1:3.
At the same time, in many previous matches, John Hines' team demonstrated mediocre performance and sometimes could not even score two goals. Incidentally, at the moment the club remains the lowest scoring team in the top eight in its conference. This is due to the fact that basically only the first three of the attack creates and uses their moments well, and the rest of the links perform a restraining function.
At the same time, the club continues to show rather weak results on its home ice and has only won six victories within 60 minutes. As a rule, the third game segment is the worst for the Wild, in which they, of course, score a lot themselves, but they concede an indecently large amount in response.
Disqualifications and injuries
Middleton, Kaprizov and Lauko will not take part in the match due to injuries.
Interesting trends for betting
- Minnesota is getting 7.22 penalty minutes per game.
On average, the "savages" are sent off at least three or four times per match
- Minnesota has a 33-28 goal-to-goal ratio in the second period.
The second period is the best performance of the "savages" compared to other periods

Nashville Predators

Current form
Nashville has a very difficult path ahead of them to get closer to the playoff zone. The team is still very far from the top eight, although before the start of the season many considered it one of the contenders for the Cup. However, in many meetings, according to bookmakers, it is still the favorite, and the odds are often in its favor. This is not entirely justified, because throughout the season the "predators" have shown inconsistent results and rarely win. Only recently have they begun to please their fans more often.
For example, on their home court they were able to deal with Los Angeles (3:2 OT) and Carolina (5:2), but in the away match with St. Louis after the holidays, the Predators again suffered a defeat with a score of 4:7, showing a weak game in defense. If we talk about the game in unequal compositions, then in terms of neutralization of the majority, the club remains the best in the league and currently has 86.9% of neutralization.
However, Andrew Brunette team cannot boast of its productivity in the 5x4 and 5x3 formats, as it ranks 20th in the championship in this indicator and has only 19.2% of the extra man conversion rate. As a rule, the worst period for Nashville is the second period, in which it has a 27:40 ratio of goals scored and goals conceded.
Disqualifications and injuries
Cole Smith will not play in the upcoming match due to injury.
Interesting trends for betting
- Nashville is getting 8.42 penalty minutes per game.
On average, the "predators" are sent off at least four times per game
- The Predators average 2.44 goals per game.
The team has been showing rather poor performance this season.
Trends
Bet 1st period: total over 1.5 goals
In three out of five matches between the clubs, the first period was productive
1.85Bet 3rd period: both teams to score
In three of the five head-to-head meetings, both teams scored goals in the third period.
2.15Tip and bets
In our opinion, it is worth considering the option of betting on Nashville success in this confrontation. The Predators have often earned points recently, and in face-to-face matches with Minnesota, they always look more than worthy. Moreover, the participation of Kirill Kaprizov in the upcoming match is in question, without whom the game of the Wild, as a rule, does not go well at all. In four previous meetings, the visitors did not lose to the Wild within 60 minutes, so we suggest betting on them not losing in regular time this time too.
Prediction - Nashville will not lose at 1.75
Bet on individual total
Minnesota continues to show poor performance and in most cases cannot even score three goals. Nashville has managed less than four goals in four previous games against the Wild. The hosts are now trying to pay more attention to defense, so we would definitely not expect them to have many effective actions.
We bet on Minnesota individual total under 3.5 goals for 1.60
Total Bet
The teams play a fairly closed style of hockey against each other and try to make as few mistakes as possible in their own zone. The clubs are wary of sharp counterattacks. Plus, Nashville is playing its second game in two days, so it certainly won't risk playing in an open manner. Minnesota, as we noted above, generally has difficulty scoring. Based on this, we bet on the total under.
We take the total under 5.5 pucks for 2.05