Nashville Predators (11-19-7, 29 pts) at Minnesota Wild (22-11-4, 48 pts)
Venue: Xcel Energy Center
Date: Tuesday, December 31
Time: 8:00 EST / 7:00 pm CST
TV: ESPN+ / FDSS / FDSN / FDSW
Radio:
Nashville Predators – The Game 102.5 FM
Minnesota Wild- KFAN 100.3 FM
DraftKings Sportsbook Betting Lines:
Nashville Predators +1.5 ML +140
Minnesota Wild -1.5 ML -165
O/U 5.5
Nashville Predators News & Notes:
Nashville had won two in a row before losing 7-4 to St. Louis and then 3-0 to the Jets last night. A promising season has never materialized in Nashville with the Predators languishing near the bottom of the Central Division. Nashville is 3-12-4 on the road this season and is one of the most disappointing teams in the league.
Minnesota Wild News & Notes:
The Wild have surprised with their early season dominance but have slipped lately with a 4-6-0 record in their last ten games. The Wild have been one of the best road teams in the NHL this season but are a pedestrian 9-8-1 at home. This is the second of three meetings between these teams with the Wild taking the first matchup 3-2 in overtime.
Nashville Predators Projected Lines:
Forsberg-Stamkos-Marchessault
L’Heureux-O’Reilly-Nyquist
Jankowski-Novak-Evangelista
Hinostroza-McCarron-Sissons
Lauzon-Josi
Skjei-Blankenburg
Wilsby-Schenn
Saros
Annunen
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Minnesota Wild Projected Lines:
Boldy-Rossi-Zuccarello
Johansson-Eriksson Ek-Hartman
Foligno-Gaudreau-Trenin
Shore-Khusnutdinov-Jones
Brodin-Faber
Chisholm-Spurgeon
Merrill-Bogosian
Gustavsson
Fleury
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Players To Watch:
Nashville Predators
Roman Josi is leading all Predators defensemen in scoring with 24 points in 37 games but he also leads the Predators in a dubious stat with a -24 on the season. This season would be Josi’s worst season since the 2020-2021 COVID-shortened season when he was a -11 and had 33 points in 48 games.
Minnesota Wild
Matthew Boldy has struggled some of late after losing his center Joel Eriksson Ek to injury and some changes to the forward lines. The skilled winger has just one point in his last five games and only four points in his last ten games. He is still second on the Wild in scoring with 31 points but needs to find his scoring touch again to help the Wild out of the mini skid they’re in.
Injury Report:
Nashville Predators
D Spencer Stastny – IR
LW Cole Smith – IR
Minnesota Wild
LW Kirill Kaprizov – Day To Day
C Jakob Lauko – IR
D Jake Middleton – LTIR
Next Game:
Nashville Predators – January 3 at Vancouver Canucks
Minnesota Wild – January 2 at Washington Capitals
Season 4. Episode 39. The Off Season – Bruins Benders Podcast
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