Vancouver Canucks vs Nashville Predators Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/03/2024

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Friday, May 3, 2024

Venue:  Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN 

Where to Watch:  TNT, MAX

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Canucks +110, Predators -130; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Canucks +110, Predators -130; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Canucks +110, Predators -130; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Vancouver Canucks:  50-23-9 (1st place, Pacific Division)

Nashville Predators:  47-30-5 (4th place, Central Division)

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Vancouver Canucks:  6-3-1 last 10

Nashville Predators:  5-3-2 last 10

The Canucks are entering this game with 109 points, a 50-23-9 record overall, and they were 23-14-4 in their road games this regular season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the Nashville Predators in their last game, losing that one at home 2-1. Nikita Zadorov scored 1 goal for them in that game. Quinn Hughes led the team in assists with 1 while Quinn Hughes, J. T. Miller, and Elias Pettersson each led the team in shots on net in that game with 3. Arturs Silovs was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 2 goals on 22 shots with 20 saves and a .909 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 279 goals this season averaging 3.4 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 223 goals against them allowing 2.7 goals per game.

The Predators are entering this game with 99 points, a 47-30-5 record overall, and they were 23-16-2 in their home games this regular season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Vancouver Canucks in their last game, winning that one on the road 2-1. Alexandre Carrier and Roman Josi each scored 1 goal for them in that game. Filip Forsberg led the team in assists with 2 while Jason Zucker led the team in shots on net in that game with 4. Juuse Saros was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 1 goal on 20 shots with 19 saves and a .950 save percentage. Their offense has scored 269 goals this season averaging 3.3 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 248 goals against them allowing 3 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Predators listed as a slight favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. This is game 6 of a 7 game series between the 1st seeded Canucks from the Pacific Division and the 1st seeded Wild Card, the Predators, for Round 1 of the NHL Western Conference playoffs. The Canucks have a 3-2 series lead after the Predators won game 5 of this series on the road. The Canucks had a chance to close out this series on home ice after winning both games in Nashville but they weren't able to do it as the Predators have really turned up their defensive efforts in the last 3 games. They found a way to win that game and stay alive in this series, now they will have some momentum on their side coming back home with a chance to even up the series here. The Predators are still the team facing elimination here so they are going to throw everything they have at the Canucks in this game, especially since they lost both home games already so they will be looking for their 1st home win in this series. The Predators lost both games on home ice but their defense was still great since they didn't give up many shots at all, and that continued in their last game on the road too. The Predators are going to make it really difficult on the Canucks to find the net in this game and their defensive efforts will be enough to even up this series on home ice and stay alive for a game 7. The best way to place a bet here is on the Predators to win this game. 

Canucks Predators Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Friday, May 3, 2024 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Predators 3 Canucks 2.

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Vancouver Canucks: 35-23 (+15.8 units) on the moneyline off a home loss. 32-22 (+13.6 units) on the moneyline after a close loss by 1 goal in their previous game. 20-10 (+9.9 units) on the moneyline after playing a game where 3 or fewer total goals were scored. 25-11 UNDER revenging a loss where the team scored 1 or less goals. 9-5 UNDER off a home loss.

Nashville Predators: 2-7 (-5.6 units) on the moneyline in the first round of the playoffs. 25-30 (-11.8 units) on the moneyline after allowing 1 goal or less in their previous game. 32-31 (-5.9 units) on the moneyline after a close win by 1 goal in their previous game. 20-12 UNDER in a home game where the total is 5.5. 15-7 UNDER off a road win.

Vancouver Canucks:  T. Demko (G) Out indefinitely - Knee. T. Poolman (D) out for season - Migraine.

Nashville Predators:  L. Schenn (D) Ques Fri - Illness. S. Stastney (D) Out Indefinitely - Upper Body.

“It just sucks. We had a chance to close them out at home with a lead. The margins are obviously close and every little mistake is going to cost you this time of year. It is what it is. It’s going to be a hard-fought series. We didn’t think coming in that it was going to be a five-gamer. And (the Predators) played well tonight.” - J.T. Miller after their loss against the Predators in game 5 of this series on Tuesday.

“All year they’ve kind of done it. Proud of them, the resiliency they showed. It was tough. It’s been a tough series to create a whole lot, they’re offensive guys. But they stuck with it, and the message was it might take forever to get it, but keep pounding on the door, and I thought they did a really good job just staying true to themselves." - Andrew Brunette after his team’s win against the Canucks in game 5 of this series on Tuesday.

LW Suter, Pius

C Miller, J.T.

RW Boeser, Brock

LD Hughes, Quinn

RD Hronek, Filip

G Silovs, Arturs

LW Forsberg, Filip

C O'Reilly, Ryan

RW Nyquist, Gustav

LD Josi, Roman

RD Fabbro, Dante

G Saros, Juuse

Points: J. Miller (103)

Goals: B. Boeser (40)

Assists: Q. Hughes (75)

GAA: T. Demko (2.45)

Points: F. Forsberg (94)

Goals: F. Forsberg (48)

Assists: R. Josi (62)

GAA: K. Lankinen (2.82)

Coaches:

Vancouver Canucks: Rick Tocchet (2nd season)

Nashville Predators: Andrew Brunette (1st season)