Flames vs Predators October 31 Betting Preview: Nashville Looking for 5th Straight Win

• Calgary (6-6-2) visits Nashville (8-3-1) Thursday night
• The Predators have won four straight games while the Flames have lost two straight
• Nashville started the season going “Over’ the number seven straight games, but has since seen the “Under” hit in four of their last five

The Nashville Predators hosts the Calgary Flames on Thursday, October 31 at 8:00 pm EST with the Preds in the midst of a four-game winning streak. The Flames vs Predators odds show this is a matchup that gives the home team a decided edge.

Flames vs Predators Odds

Odds taken Oct. 30

With Nashville getting too much love from the oddsmakers for my liking I think the value here rests on the total. Here are three reasons why “Under 6.0” should be your play for this one.

Nashville Playing Lock Down Defense

Nashville opened the season with seven straight games hitting the “Over” and that style of play wasn’t something they were used to. Since shoring up some defensive issues, the “Under” has now hit in four of their last five games.

Brad Marchand (@NHLBruins), Roman Josi (@PredsNHL) and Brian Elliott (@NHLFlyers) named “Three Stars” for the week ending Oct. 27. https://t.co/0KIIlCX3fL pic.twitter.com/XIyJ3Y8axH

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) October 28, 2019

Calgary is also coming off back to back games where the “Under” bet was a winner, which makes me comfortable calling it a trend for both teams. In a battle between two teams in the Western Conference that know each other well, I don’t expect there to be much ice which should lead to a tight-checking, low scoring affair.

Pekka Rinne Still an Elite Goalie

Pekka Rinne’s numbers to start the year are incredible – if you were playing a video game and had these numbers with your goalie you’d change the difficulty setting. He’s 7-0-1 while sporting a 1.74 goals against average and .937 save percentage. Those last two numbers both rank third in the NHL.

Tack on another @pepsi shutout for Pekka Rinne this year. pic.twitter.com/XpEeVf6afU

— NHL (@NHL) October 30, 2019

With Rinne giving up little to nothing to the opposition, it’s hard to see Nashville’s offense scoring enough to get this game to seven or more goals. They are tied for the lead with scoring 4.0 goals per game but that’s misleading since most of that offense came early in the year. Over the last six games they’ve scored more than four goals only once.

Is the Predators Defense the Best in the NHL?

The trio of Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis and Mattias Ekholm are the envy of general managers around the league. Having three-star players on defense is an embarrassment of riches, so much so the loss of PK Subban almost hasn’t been noticed. Josi was rewarded this week with a new eight-year, $72.47 million extension to keep him in Nashville for the long-term.

😱😱 OH MY GOODNESS, ANDREI SVECHNIKOV!!!! 😱😱 pic.twitter.com/yzAnFeV4W4

— NHL (@NHL) October 30, 2019

While those d-men are certainly elite, the reigning Norris Trophy winner is the NHL’s best defenseman and actually plays for Calgary. Mark Giordano continues to play a strong game on the back end for Calgary and will be used to shut down Josi and Ellis who are tied for the Predators lead in scoring. Assuming there are no highlight-reel goals like the Flames surrendered last time out, I think the Flames defense will handle themselves well.

Bet the Under Confidently

This has “Under” written all over it. Elite level defensive players coupled with a star goalie that is playing out of his mind – it’s not only the smart play it’s the clear one. Rinne is still listed as expected to start but once that news becomes official, hammer “Under 6.0” and enjoy cheering for great saves and strong defensive effort instead of goals this time.

Pick: Under 6.0 (-120)