The Nashville Predators can move to within one game of their first-ever berth in the Stanley Cup Final with a win Thursday when they host the Anaheim Ducks in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final as -155 betting favourites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Nashville seized a 2-1 series lead with a 2-1 victory as -145 home chalk on Tuesday to remain unbeaten at home in six playoff contests going into Thursday night’s Ducks versus Predators betting matchup at Bridgestone Arena.
The Predators’ Game 3 win solidified their position as -285 favourites on the series prices, and also marked the 10th time during this post-season they have held an opponent to two or fewer goals in a game.
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Nashville has largely dominated the Ducks during the series, outshooting Anaheim by a wide 119-76 overall margin after failing to muster more than 25 shots in four of their six second-round series dates with the St. Louis Blues.
Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne has emerged as a Conn Smythe Trophy contender while recording a pair of shutouts and a .942 save percentage this spring, providing critical support for a Nashville offence that has failed to score more than three goals in each of its past eight.
Those numbers have translated into a boon for those taking the UNDER in totals betting, which has prevailed in five of Nashville’s past seven, while the total has finished OVER just three times in the Predators’ past 21 overall, according to the OddsShark NHL Database.
The Ducks enter Game 4 sporting +135 odds for Thursday and trailing 2-1 in a series for the second time in these playoffs.
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Anaheim also dropped two of its first three to Edmonton in the second round before rallying to take that series in seven games, but has enjoyed little success against the Predators over the past year. The Ducks have now lost three straight in Nashville, including a critical 4-1 defeat as -107 chalk in Game 6 of last year’s opening round – which set the stage for the Predators’ upset victory in Game 7.
With the memory of last year’s playoff loss still fresh, and a muted Ducks offence scoring just 11 total goals over the club’s past five games, Anaheim has tumbled to +240 on the NHL series prices.
While the Ducks opened the post-season with five straight road wins, they have been a shaky road bet otherwise, finishing the regular season with just six wins in their final 15 games away from the Honda Center, while being held to two or fewer goals on nine occasions.
