Picking Predators To Stick It To Senators

Predators vs. Senators, 7:00 ET

Monday is one of the lighter days I've seen in quite some time with the NHL. There is only one game tonight, but I'm kind of happy about that. Geoff Clark told me that one advantage we have against the books are that we get to choose which game to bet on. We could choose to bet on tonight's game, or not. But, part of my issue lately is picking the right game to bet on. I write one article and share a play but that doesn't mean it is the only game I evaluate. My evaluations have been solid, my picks have been rough. I'm hopeful that with just one game today, we can get a win as the Predators take on the Senators.

The Predators are a middling team right now, sitting at 26-22-1 on the season. They are 2-3 in their last five games and four of them have been on the road. When they win, they are winning close games. When they lose, they aren't covering the puck line typically. In fact they've lost by two or more goals in 16 of their 22 losses. Tonight, they play on the road where they are just 13-10-1 on the year and have dropped three of their past five road games. The Predators are scoring about three goals per game on the season while allowing slightly more than three goals per game. For them to have a positive record, it should be recognized as a success right now. Within the Power Play situations, they also could use a bit of success right now. They have scored on only about 19% of their opportunities while killing only 76% of their opponent's chances. That is better than what the Senators are doing, but not significantly. Juuse Saros should be in the net for the Predators. He has been acceptable this season, but his ranks sit close to the bottom of the starters in the league. He has improved this month as he has allowed only 22 goals against 250 shots - good for a .912 save percentage.

NEWARK, NJ - MARCH 25: Shane Pinto #57 of the Ottawa Senators gets ready to take a faceoff in the second period of the game against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on March 25, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Graessle/NHLI via Getty Images)

I wouldn't say that the Senators are a very talented team, they are only 18-25-2 on the season and just .500 at home with a 12-12-2 record. That's obviously better than they have been on the road, but still not impressive. Their offense has been more impressive than the Predators this season with 3.33 goals per game, but their defense has been atrocious, allowing 3.67 goals per game. They have lost 20 games by two or more goals this season. This, again, is helpful information as I don't think I want to involve a puck line play, and that can eliminate a couple options for us. They average almost 33 shots per game and let opponents take only 31 (which is what the Predators average). I would guess that Joonas Korpisalo will be in the net for the Senators tonight. Korpisalo is struggling to stop a lot of goals this year, and he has allowed 3.52 goals per game and has just a .886 save percentage. This month has been a bit of a struggle as he has allowed at least three goals in six of his 10 games. The Senators are only 3-7 in games he has played this season.

I don't think either of these teams are playing great hockey and it would be a bit hard to back either of them in this game. Neither is in very good form currently. And, even the goalies aren't exactly playing very well. I will take the Predators to win this game though as I think they can pull out a victory on the road. I would be a bit surprised to see this game go under as neither team's defense will be all that impressive.

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