Nashville Predators at Arizona Coyotes - 8/7/20 NHL Picks and Prediction
Photo by Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Nashville Predators (36-28-8) at Arizona Coyotes (35-30-8)
NHL Hockey: Friday, August 7, 2020 at 2:30 pm (Rogers Place)
The Line: Arizona Coyotes +120 / Nashville Predators -140 --- Over/Under: 5.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Nashville Predators and the Arizona Coyotes meet in game four of their best-of-five qualifying round series from Rogers Place on Friday afternoon.
The Nashville Predators will try to rebound and force an all-deciding game five after falling behind 2-1 in the series with a 4-1 loss to Arizona last time out.
Christian Dvorak gave Arizona the lead with the lone goal of the opening period just after the five-minute mark of the first before Viktor Arvidsson tied the game at one for the Predators with the only goal in the second period. Conor Garland gave the ‘Yotes a 2-1 lead just after the seven-minute mark of the 3rd period before Taylor Hall gave Arizona an insurance goal with just over four minutes to go at 3-1. Carl Soderberg chipped in a 4th goal on an empty net to put the game out of reach in Arizona’s favor as the Coyotes held on for the win and the series lead.
Darcy Kuemper got the win between the pipes for Arizona after stopping 39 of 40 shots faced in the winning effort while Juuse Saros took the loss for the Predators after giving up three goals on 27 shots faced in defeat.
Nashville is 2-6 in their last 8 playoff games as a favorite and 6-2 in their last 8 games against a team with a losing record while the under is 4-0 in their last 4 games following a loss of 3 or more goals. Arizona is 2-8 in their last 10 games following a win and 1-4 in their last 5 games as an underdog while the under is 4-0 in their last 4 Friday games. The under is 12-4 in the last 16 meetings between these two teams.
I think we really saw it in game three as the Coyotes appeared to turn back the clocks to early this season where the defense was stealing the show as well as the goaltending, but this time around the offense showed up as well for Arizona. Nashville has some solid pieces but the goaltending just hasn’t been cutting it lately and I worry that whether it’s Saros or Pekka Rinne that goes here, that whoever it is won’t have what it takes to keep Nashville in this game enough to give the team a chance. I’ll take Arizona and the plus money as the Coyotes close out the series, completing the minor upset.
Chris’s Pick Arizona +120
AUTHOR: Chris Ruffolo
Mitch's Take...
