NHL Betting Preview: Canucks vs. Predators Game 4
By Tyson Cole
23 hours agoThe Vancouver Canucks have a matinee matchup for Game 4 against the Nashville Predators. Vancouver got their revenge as Nashville were the ones to outshoot them in this one, yet the Canucks walked away with the win. In this NHL Betting article, you’ll be up to date with all the current Canucks odds and trends from this series to help you win a little bit of extra money this playoff season!
Canucks vs. Predators Odds
- Vancouver Canucks Moneyline Odds: +115
- Nashville Predators Moneyline Odds: -135
- Puck Line Odds: Canucks +1.5 (-250), Predators -1.5 (+205)
- Game Total: 5.5 goals (over -115, under -105)
- Time/Date: April 28th, 2:00 PM PST
- TV: Sportsnet, CBC
All odds courtesy of Bet365.
Last Matchup
In game three of this series, the Canucks won the special teams battle, ultimately resulting in them winning the game. Vancouver went 2-3 on the powerplay, with J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes being a part of both goals for the team. While the Nashville Predators were unable to beat Casey DeSmith on their five powerplay opportunities.
The Predators outshot the Canucks 30-12, the first substantial discrepancy in this series. All four lines of the Predators outshot their opponents at 5-on-5, but with 18 more shots than the Canucks, that’s to be expected. The Ryan-McDonaugh-Roman Josi pairing was elite defensively, allowing only one shot at 5-on-5.
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Check out Daily Faceoff for all the updates regarding the line combinations and goaltenders for Tuesday’s matchup.
Handicapping the Canucks (2-1 SU, 2-1 ATS, 1-2 O/U)
The key to last game’s victory was scoring the first goal, and for the first time in the series, Vancouver did just that. They capitalized on their first powerplay opportunity and followed that up with another tally on the powerplay early in the second period.
Casey DeSmith looked great. DeSmith spoke earlier about how he prefers to play on the road, as it alleviates some pressure from being on home ice. And boy, was he right. He made 29 of 30 saves, for a 1.00 goals against average and a .967 save percentage. If he plays today like he did last game, the Predators are in trouble.
As I mentioned above, the Canucks won the special teams battle. But they can’t expect to slow down this Predators powerplay for much longer. Since the All-Star break, Nashville had the second-best powerplay percentage (27.2%). Vancouver must be more disciplined in Game 4 to limit this lethal Nashville powerplay.
Handicapping the Predators (1-2 SU, 1-2 ATS, 1-2 O/U)
Any hockey fan watching Game 3 could tell the Predators had a mission. That mission was to lay the body on Quinn Hughes as much as possible. Nashville dealt out three hits on the Norris trophy favourite, trailing only Ian Cole for most on the team. This caused Hughes to move the puck quickly and limited his offensive star power. Shutting Hughes down offensively is a key to this game for the Predators.
Outside of his goal in Game 2, it was the first time I noticed Filip Forsberg out there. He looked dangerous in the offensive zone and may have scored had DeSmith not gotten a piece of Forsberg’s shot with his glove. He also led the team in shots on goal, with four. It was an encouraging site for Nashville fans to see their 48-goal scorer start buzzing in the offensive zone.
Juuse Saros had his worst game of the series, allowing two goals on 12 shots for a .833 save percentage. However, he has proven he can bounce back after a poor performance this season, with an 8-4 record following a game with a sub .850 save percentage.
Predators vs. Canucks Injury News
No new injury news for the Canucks. Thatcher Demko is still out with his knee injury, and there is no further update on his return.
After a hard hit from Dakota Joshua along the end boards, the Predators’ Spencer Stastney left Game 3 with an upper-body injury. It looks as though he’ll be ruled out for this afternoon’s game.
Projected Lineups
No lineup changes for the Vancouver Canucks, which isn’t unexpected after a win.
After a hard hit from Dakota Joshua along the end boards, Spencer Stastney left Game 3 with an upper-body injury. Victoria, BC native Tyson Barrie will draw into the lineup alongside Luke Schenn for the Nashville Predators.
PRESENTED BY BET365
Team Betting Trends
- Nashville is 1-2 over their last three home games.
- Vancouver is 3-0 on the road against Nashville this season.
- Nashville is 0-3 in their last three games against Vancouver as a favourite.
- These two teams are 7-3 to the over 5.5 in games where Nashville are the favourites.
Player Prop Betting Trends
- J.T. Miller has been a shooting machine in this series. He has covered 2.5 shots on goal line (-125) in two of three games this series, averaging 3.0 shots on 8.7 shot attempts. Over his last five road games, Miller has cleared this line in four games, averaging 3.2 shots on 5.6 shot attempts. He had the only three shots for Vancouver in the first period.
- Vancouver has been elite at limiting shots from the point this season, allowing just 7.5 per game. Roman Josi has been getting the same Quinn Hughes treatment from Nikita Zadorov. This resulted in him not clearing this shot on goal line once this series, averaging 1.7 shots on 6.7 shot attempts. His shot on goal prop is set at 3.5, with the UNDER priced at -180 odds.
Best Bets for Canucks Army
- As I mentioned above, J.T. Miller’s shot volume has been impressive. That’s why we’ll be taking J.T. Miller’s over 2.5 shot on goal prop at -125 odds.
- With the team betting trends of Vancouver being 3-0 in their last three games in Nashville – all coming this season – along with Nashville being 0-3 in their previous three games against Vancouver as a favourite, we’ll be taking the Canucks to put a stranglehold on the series and betting the Vancouver Canucks Moneyline at +115 odds.
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