The NHL’s Western Conference Finals matchup between the Nashville Predators and the Anaheim Ducks for a spot in this season’s Stanley Cup Finals continues this Saturday night at the Honda Center with Game 5 of this best-of-seven showdown. Game time is set for 7:15 p.m. (ET) on NBC Sports Network.
Nashville at Anaheim Game Overview
The Predators battled back from a two-goal deficit in Game 4 only to lose in overtime by the score of 3-2 as -141 home favorites. The total ended as a PUSH on Thursday night and it has now stayed UNDER or ended as a PUSH in three of the first four games in this series. Nashville has to go back on the road in an attempt to regain the edge in a series that has now become a best-of-three affair. It has gone 4-3 in seven previous road playoff games and the total has stayed UNDER or ended as a PUSH in five of those contests.
Following two scoreless periods in Thursday’s Game 4, PK Subban put Nashville on the board at 13:33 mark of the third period and Filip Forsberg tied things up with less than a minute left in regulation. However, the Predators missed a golden opportunity to take a commanding lead in this series by giving up the game-winning goal halfway through the first overtime period. Forsberg now leads the team in goals this postseason with seven. Goalie Pekke Rinne came into this game with a lofty goals-against average of 1.58, but he allowed three goals on 37 total shots.
Anaheim breathed new life into this series after dropping two of the first three games. Thursday’s win was just the second time in their last five games that it was able to score at least three goals. The total has stayed UNDER or ended as a PUSH in four of those five games. The Ducks have gone 5-3 on their home ice in the postseason and the total has stayed UNDER or ended as a PUSH in five of those games.
Credit Corey Perry with sending this series back to Anaheim tied at two games apiece with his unassisted goal in overtime of Game 4. Rickard Rakell opened the scoring in that game midway through the first period with his seventh goal in the playoffs and Nick Ritchie gave the Ducks a 2-0 lead by scoring his fourth playoff goal at the halfway point of the second. Center Ryan Getzlaf was held in check on Thursday night, but he continues to lead the team in points this postseason with 10 goals and eight assists. John Gibson went the distance in goal and he turned away 32 of 34 shots he faced. One injury note; Rakell has been listed as questionable for Saturday with an unspecified ailment.
Nashville at Anaheim Game Betting Trends
- The Predators are just 8-17 in their last 25 Saturday games, but they are 5-2 in their last seven games after scoring two or fewer goals in their previous outing. The total has stayed UNDER or ended as a PUSH in nine of their last 10 games on one day’s rest.
- The Ducks have gone 13-5 in their last 18 games following a win, but they fall to 2-5 in their last seven games played on a Saturday. The total has gone OVER or ended as a PUSH in six of their last seven games on one day’s rest.
- Head-to-head in this matchup, the home team is 5-2 in the last seven meetings and the total has gone OVER or ended as a PUSH in 21 of the last 26 meetings in Anaheim.
