Predators vs Mammoth

Utah’s skaters return from the break on a one-game skid after a 1-0 home loss to Colorado, while Nashville also had a modest two-game surge halted in St. Louis, so neither side enters this one riding real momentum, but the Mammoth’s overall profile still looks stronger for the straight-up result. With Logan Cooley (14 goals, 23 points) still on injured reserve and fellow blueliner Olli Maatta sidelined, Utah loses some offensive punch and depth, yet they remain a top-half defensive group that allows under three goals per game and suppresses shots about as well as anyone, compared to a Predators team that’s been leaky at 3.3-plus goals against per night. At five-on-five, Utah’s home split (9-6-1) plus Juuse Saros’ inconsistency behind a Nashville defense that bleeds chances counterbalances the absence of Cooley, especially when Clayton Keller – who has historically carved up the Predators with better than a point-per-game pace – is still driving Utah’s top line and Nick Schmaltz, Dylan Guenther, and Mikhail Sergachev are all healthy on the current ESPN roster. Add in that the Mammoth already stole the first meeting 3-2 on the road and now get last change at the Delta Center, and Utah at -155 on the moneyline grades out as a solid but not elite edge: good enough for a B given the decent win probability but only moderate value at this price. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 29/12/2025 09:36([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nhl/team/_/name/uta/utah-mammoth))

Even with Nashville’s defensive numbers dragging near the bottom third of the league, the combination of Utah’s shot-suppressing structure and Cooley’s continued absence nudges this total toward the Under at 5.5. Utah is scoring just under three goals a night but allowing only 2.9 while giving up fewer than 25 shots per game, and the Predators’ attack has been more grind-it-out than explosive at roughly 2.8 goals for per game, which has produced a string of one-goal, low-scoring outings from both sides in the last couple of weeks. The key here is that Utah’s power play has lagged around the bottom of the league while both penalty kills are comfortably above average, so a lot of this game may be contested at five-on-five where the Mammoth’s structure and Karel Vejmelka’s status (day-to-day but expected to be available) help keep the pace and scoreboard in check, even with Juuse Saros’ volatility at the other end. With both clubs sitting shy of the halfway mark in the schedule, there’s urgency for points but not yet true playoff desperation that would force wide-open hockey, so Under 5.5 at 100 looks like a modest-value lean rather than a slam dunk, grading out at B- based on defensive trends and the offensive hit Utah takes without Cooley. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 29/12/2025 09:36([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nhl/team/_/name/nsh/nashville-predators))

Given how closely these teams are matched and how their first meeting finished 3-2 for Utah, the puckline value tilts toward Nashville grabbing the extra goal and a half at -205 rather than laying multiple goals with the home favorite. Utah’s underlying numbers – slightly better goal differential, stronger defense, and a solid home mark – justify their status as the moneyline favorite, but with the Mammoth missing Cooley and relying heavily on Keller, Schmaltz, and Guenther for creation, they’ve played a run of tight, one-goal games against quality opposition, while Nashville’s recent results (including one-goal decisions against Minnesota, the Rangers, and St. Louis) suggest they’re living in the same margin-of-error neighborhood. With Jonathan Marchessault sidelined for the Predators you lose a finisher on the wing, yet Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly are healthy per the current roster, and Saros is capable of stealing enough at even strength to keep things within a goal even if Utah dictates play. That combination – Utah still likely to edge the game overall, but both rosters and recent form pointing toward another razor-thin margin – makes Predators +1.5 the smartest way to attack the side, and at -205 it earns a B+ grade as a relatively high-probability, if somewhat juice-heavy, position. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 29/12/2025 09:36([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nhl/preview/_/gameId/401802963))