by Chuck Sommers
Sunday, Feb 19, 2023
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Venue: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN
Where to watch: BSSO, BSWI, BSN
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Wild -205, Predators +175
FanDuel: Wild -178, Predators +146
BetMGM: Wild -210, Predators +170
Caesars: NL
Season record
Predators: 26-21-6
Wild: 29-21-5
The All-Star break is over, the second half of the NHL season can officially begin, and we're bound for what should be a very exciting second half of the hockey season. Basketball and hockey are about to rule the roost in the sports betting world once the Super Bowl is done with, and we should all be very excited for what's to come. When the trade deadline hits and players switch teams, you know things are about to get hectic over these final 30 games or so. One way you can stay tuned with the action is following what our champion handicappers are doing in the world of the NHL. Look at ASA, Inc., reeling in a $6,750 profit off a 17-9-0 run. Al McMordie is also doing well on the ice with a 13-5-0 run and a net profit of $6,050. Scott Rickenbach has also been hanging strong with a lot of betting action, in what's been an unusual year, with a 24-18-0 run and reeling in $5,950. You know this action is going to be great now that games are back and a busy second half if on the horizon. All you need to do is head to our BEST BETS page at bigal.com to find out all of what we're trying to tell you. Make sure you're locked in at bigal.com and go to our Best Bets page to find out what our champion handicappers have to say in the world of the NHL!
Predators - Wild preview, prediction and analysis
The Nashville Predators will be playing the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, February 19 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Nashville Predators won against the Florida Panthers on Saturday, February 18 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee with a score of 7-3. The Nashville Predators currently rank 5th in the Central Division.
Tommy Novak scored twice for the Nashville Predators. Roman Josi had a goal and two assists, Ryan Johansen had a goal and an assist, and Ryan McDonagh had three assists for the Predators (26-21-6), who lost their previous two games by a combined score of 9-2. Kevin Lankinen made 30 saves.
The seven goals were a season high for Nashville. It scored five straight after trailing 2-1.
"Obviously we're trying to put together a complete 60-minute game or close to it, and more importantly get the two points," McDonagh said. "For the majority of the game tonight, we were really clicking and didn't have any passengers. It was great to see us offensively get rewarded in a lot of areas there, and not compensate too much on the defensive end either."
Novak gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 2:36 of the first period after he won a puck battle in the corner and fired a wrist shot over Bobrovsky's left shoulder. Nick Cousins tied it 1-1 at 7:55 in his 500th NHL game. He beat a screened Lankinen five-hole from the slot.
Matthew Tkachuk gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead at 12:09, redirecting Brandon Montour's cross-ice pass. Matt Duchene tied it 2-2 at 12:56 with a slap shot after a feed from McDonagh, and Johansen put the Predators ahead 3-2 at 15:01 on the power play, stationing himself next to the crease and redirecting Josi's pass.
"We obviously wanted to get back into it when we were down," Nashville coach John Hynes said. "But I thought we were playing a really solid game. I thought our response to that was better than it was the other night (a 5-0 loss to the Boston Bruins on Thursday). I thought all-around in general, it was a pretty strong performance for us."
Colton Sissons gave Nashville a 4-2 lead on a breakaway at 7:40 of the second period, which prompted Florida coach Paul Maurice to pull Bobrovsky. Josi made it 5-2 at 16:23 with a slap shot from the left face-off circle that beat Knight high to the glove side.
Novak gave the Predators a 6-2 lead with a power-play goal at 8:58 of the third period, banking a shot off Knight from behind the net. It was the first two-goal NHL game for Novak, who was a healthy scratch for two games before returning against the Bruins.
"Sometimes a game off or two isn't the worst thing for guys," Hynes said. "They come back in, they're energized, refreshed and ready to go. He was good. He's a guy in particular where against Boston, he really wasn't himself. He's a guy that has great poise with the puck and makes plays when he has time and space. He was one guy in particular we talked with, and tonight you see the difference in his game."
Sam Reinhart cut it to 6-3 with a power-play goal at 9:48, but Yakov Trenin scored an empty-net goal at 14:14 for the 7-3 final.
The Nashville Predators have won six of their last 10 games.
The Minnesota Wild won against the Dallas Stars last Friday, February 17 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota with a score of 2-1 in a shootout. The Minnesota Wild currently rank 4th in the Central Division.
Filip Gustavsson made 29 saves for the Minnesota Wild. Mats Zuccarello scored his 20th goal of the season for Minnesota (29-21-5), which had lost five of six (1-4-1).
"Obviously it's nice to get rewarded positively in a game like that against a team like that," Wild coach Dean Evason said. "To play the way that we played defensively, but the way that we worked, was again positive. We've had them for a while now. We just haven't got the two points on a consistent basis. We need to keep doing it."
Zuccarello gave the Wild a 1-0 lead at 6:37 of the third period, deflecting a pass from Boldy on the power play.
"[Goals have] been hard to come by as of late, but yeah, it's a really good feeling," Zuccarello said.
Jamie Benn tied it 1-1 at 10:24 on a shot from a sharp angle on the left off a pass from Wyatt Johnston from behind the net for his third goal in four games.
Frederick Gaudreau and Matt Boldy scored in the shootout, and Gustavsson made three straight saves after Jason Robertson scored in the first round.
"We're good in shootouts, we're good in overtime," Gustavsson said. "You just have to stay calm there and treat it like any other game."
The Minnesota Wild have won four of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Not a lot has gone right for Minnesota in these last number of games at home, but I trust the Wild more than I do the Predators at this point. Wild 4, Predators 3
The Nashville Predators won against the Florida Panthers on Saturday, February 18 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee with a score of 7-3. The Nashville Predators currently rank 5th in the Central Division.
Tommy Novak scored twice for the Nashville Predators. Roman Josi had a goal and two assists, Ryan Johansen had a goal and an assist, and Ryan McDonagh had three assists for the Predators (26-21-6), who lost their previous two games by a combined score of 9-2. Kevin Lankinen made 30 saves.
The seven goals were a season high for Nashville. It scored five straight after trailing 2-1.
"Obviously we're trying to put together a complete 60-minute game or close to it, and more importantly get the two points," McDonagh said. "For the majority of the game tonight, we were really clicking and didn't have any passengers. It was great to see us offensively get rewarded in a lot of areas there, and not compensate too much on the defensive end either."
Novak gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 2:36 of the first period after he won a puck battle in the corner and fired a wrist shot over Bobrovsky's left shoulder. Nick Cousins tied it 1-1 at 7:55 in his 500th NHL game. He beat a screened Lankinen five-hole from the slot.
Matthew Tkachuk gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead at 12:09, redirecting Brandon Montour's cross-ice pass. Matt Duchene tied it 2-2 at 12:56 with a slap shot after a feed from McDonagh, and Johansen put the Predators ahead 3-2 at 15:01 on the power play, stationing himself next to the crease and redirecting Josi's pass.
"We obviously wanted to get back into it when we were down," Nashville coach John Hynes said. "But I thought we were playing a really solid game. I thought our response to that was better than it was the other night (a 5-0 loss to the Boston Bruins on Thursday). I thought all-around in general, it was a pretty strong performance for us."
Colton Sissons gave Nashville a 4-2 lead on a breakaway at 7:40 of the second period, which prompted Florida coach Paul Maurice to pull Bobrovsky. Josi made it 5-2 at 16:23 with a slap shot from the left face-off circle that beat Knight high to the glove side.
Novak gave the Predators a 6-2 lead with a power-play goal at 8:58 of the third period, banking a shot off Knight from behind the net. It was the first two-goal NHL game for Novak, who was a healthy scratch for two games before returning against the Bruins.
"Sometimes a game off or two isn't the worst thing for guys," Hynes said. "They come back in, they're energized, refreshed and ready to go. He was good. He's a guy in particular where against Boston, he really wasn't himself. He's a guy that has great poise with the puck and makes plays when he has time and space. He was one guy in particular we talked with, and tonight you see the difference in his game."
Sam Reinhart cut it to 6-3 with a power-play goal at 9:48, but Yakov Trenin scored an empty-net goal at 14:14 for the 7-3 final.
The Nashville Predators have won six of their last 10 games.
The Minnesota Wild won against the Dallas Stars last Friday, February 17 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota with a score of 2-1 in a shootout. The Minnesota Wild currently rank 4th in the Central Division.
Filip Gustavsson made 29 saves for the Minnesota Wild. Mats Zuccarello scored his 20th goal of the season for Minnesota (29-21-5), which had lost five of six (1-4-1).
"Obviously it's nice to get rewarded positively in a game like that against a team like that," Wild coach Dean Evason said. "To play the way that we played defensively, but the way that we worked, was again positive. We've had them for a while now. We just haven't got the two points on a consistent basis. We need to keep doing it."
Zuccarello gave the Wild a 1-0 lead at 6:37 of the third period, deflecting a pass from Boldy on the power play.
"[Goals have] been hard to come by as of late, but yeah, it's a really good feeling," Zuccarello said.
Jamie Benn tied it 1-1 at 10:24 on a shot from a sharp angle on the left off a pass from Wyatt Johnston from behind the net for his third goal in four games.
Frederick Gaudreau and Matt Boldy scored in the shootout, and Gustavsson made three straight saves after Jason Robertson scored in the first round.
"We're good in shootouts, we're good in overtime," Gustavsson said. "You just have to stay calm there and treat it like any other game."
The Minnesota Wild have won four of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Not a lot has gone right for Minnesota in these last number of games at home, but I trust the Wild more than I do the Predators at this point. Wild 4, Predators 3
Betting trends
Favorite is 11-2 in the last 13 meetings.
Predators have won 11 of the last 13 meetings.
The home team has won 14 of the last 19 meetings.
Projected lines
Predators:
Mikael Granlund -- Ryan Johansen -- Matt Duchene
Nino Niederreiter -- Cody Glass -- Philip Tomasino
Yakov Trenin -- Colton Sissons -- Tanner Jeannot
Cole Smith -- Tommy Novak -- Juuso Parssinen
Ryan McDonagh -- Roman Josi
Mattias Ekholm -- Jeremy Lauzon
Kevin Gravel -- Dante Fabbro
Juuse Saros
Mikael Granlund -- Ryan Johansen -- Matt Duchene
Nino Niederreiter -- Cody Glass -- Philip Tomasino
Yakov Trenin -- Colton Sissons -- Tanner Jeannot
Cole Smith -- Tommy Novak -- Juuso Parssinen
Ryan McDonagh -- Roman Josi
Mattias Ekholm -- Jeremy Lauzon
Kevin Gravel -- Dante Fabbro
Juuse Saros
Wild:
Kirill Kaprizov -- Ryan Hartman -- Mats Zuccarello
Adam Beckman -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Matt Boldy
Jordan Greenway -- Frederick Gaudreau -- Brandon Duhaime
Mason Shaw -- Connor Dewar -- Ryan Reaves
Jake Middleton -- Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin -- Matt Dumba
Jon Merrill -- Alex Goligoski
Filip Gustavsson
Kirill Kaprizov -- Ryan Hartman -- Mats Zuccarello
Adam Beckman -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Matt Boldy
Jordan Greenway -- Frederick Gaudreau -- Brandon Duhaime
Mason Shaw -- Connor Dewar -- Ryan Reaves
Jake Middleton -- Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin -- Matt Dumba
Jon Merrill -- Alex Goligoski
Filip Gustavsson
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
