Yesterday we went 1:1 again with our free picks. Unfortunately, the Boston Bruins were defeated in the final minutes of their game against the Hurricanes and suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 loss. On the other hand, the St. Louis Blues won overtime 4-3 against the Vancouver Canucks. The Blues were big outsider in this game with odds of +180, or 2.80 in decimal format.
My free official NHL tip today is for the Nashville Predators to win against the Minnesota Wild.
The Preds are currently the slight underdogs in this duel. This pick is powered by one of my NHL betting systems called The Goal Drought. This is how this system works.
If the visiting team has lost their last two games by scoring three or fewer goals in each defeat and they have odds greater than -125 in American format or 1.80 in decimal format, then we should bet on them.
In fact, the Predators have lost their last two games against the Arizona Coyotes and Florida Panthers, scoring two goals and one goal, respectively. Therefore, they fall into my preferred system at +105 odds for the Nashville Predators.
Good sequence
The Preds go into this duel with a record of 25 wins and 22 defeats as well as one defeat in overtime. The Wild, ranked 13th in the West, have a record of 21 wins, 21 losses and five overtime losses. Nashville has lost its last two games while the Wild have won their last three games.
Here are a few more reasons why I prefer the Predators in this matchup.
Nashville has recorded 12 wins in the last 16 meetings.
The Predators have been excellent of late, as evidenced by their record of 10 wins and four losses in 14 games. They have also won four of their last six visits to the Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota.
However, the Wild's home performance has been worrying me lately. Despite winning four of their last five meetings, they have only won twice in their last eight games in front of their fans.
Saros is solid against the wild
The Predators should probably put Juuse Saros between the pipes for this matchup. This season he played 37 games with a record of 18 wins, 18 losses and 1 draw. He maintains an average of 2.94 goals allowed per game, with an efficiency ratio of 0.904.
Getty Images via AFP
Interestingly, Saros has historically been solid against the Wild. During his career playing against the Wild, he only conceded an average of 2.26 goals per game. He also has a record of 6 wins and 3 losses. His impressive efficiency jumps to .930.
This increases my confidence in my advice to bet on the game.
In their final matchup of the season, the Wild defeated the Preds 6-1. You guessed it. I turn to the revenge argument, which I particularly value in my analyses. Andrew Brunette's side therefore need not remember the humiliation they suffered against their division rivals in November.
The Predators are the slight underdogs in this match. They should be able to pick up points and stop their two-game losing streak.