Predators vs Golden Knights

With Nashville shaking off its 6-12-4 start to reach 17-17-4 and sit just three points out of a wild-card spot, the Predators’ recent 11-5-0 heater is hard to ignore against a Vegas side that has dropped five of its last six (1-3-2) and just blew a pair of multi-goal leads to Colorado in a 6-5 shootout loss. Juuse Saros has steadied Nashville with a sub-3.00 goals-against mark and roughly .910 save percentage over his recent run, while Steven Stamkos, Filip Forsberg, and Ryan O’Reilly are all in form and have historically produced well against the Golden Knights, with Stamkos and O’Reilly piling up better than a point per game versus Vegas in their careers. On the other side, the Knights’ skill core of Jack Eichel (if he returns), Mitch Marner, and Mark Stone is elite on paper, but recent defensive lapses plus uncertainty in net with Carter Hart absorbing a heavy workload and Adin Hill working back from a leg issue make laying a rich -195 price less attractive than grabbing a surging road dog at 162. Given Nashville’s current trajectory, their top-end talent being fully active after earlier injury concerns for Roman Josi, and Vegas’ recent struggle to close games, I’ll take the Predators to edge this one outright at plus money, but keep the grade at a B because Vegas’ roster ceiling and home-ice profile still carry real downside risk. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 31/12/2025 09:24

Both teams’ underlying numbers point toward offense, with Vegas averaging roughly 3.1 goals for and 3.0 against and Nashville around 2.8 for and 3.3 against, and they’re trending higher-event lately: the Golden Knights just played a 6-5 shootout track meet with Colorado, while the Predators’ recent 4-3 comeback in Utah was another example of their attack overcoming a leaky defensive phase. Nashville’s top six—Stamkos, Forsberg, O’Reilly and Luke Evangelista—has been driving the bulk of their production, and Josi’s return to the lineup boosts their transition game and power play, while Vegas counters with Eichel, Marner, Stone and Tomas Hertl on one of the league’s more dangerous man-advantage units. The main brake on an Over is Saros’ form and the fact that both teams, hovering around midseason and firmly in the playoff hunt, understand the value of a tighter road/home game, but Vegas’ recent habit of falling behind early and Nashville’s improved finishing tilt the balance toward goals, especially at a total of 6 where a push is still in play. I lean to Over 6 at -110 with a B- grade: the offensive talent and recent scoring patterns justify the play, but high-variance goaltending—Carter Hart struggling, Saros capable of stealing a low-event game—keeps this from being more than a modest confidence position. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 31/12/2025 09:24

Given Nashville’s profile, grabbing the goal and a half looks like the smartest way to back them: the Predators have already collected 20 points in 15 one-goal games and are 8-3-4 in those contests, while Vegas is an ugly 4-11 in overtime and 1-5 in shootouts, repeatedly failing to convert close efforts into full wins. Josi’s return to anchor the Preds blue line, Saros’ steadier metrics compared with Hart’s 3.2-plus goals-against and sub-.890 save percentage, and the form of Nashville’s veteran core—Stamkos riding a 20-points-in-16-games surge and Forsberg on a lengthy point streak—suggest they’re more likely to hang around than get blown out in a hostile T-Mobile environment. Vegas still owns better season-long territorial numbers, plus a deep, healthy forward group with Stone and Marner back driving a top-10 power play, so they’re absolutely capable of winning this in regulation; but the combination of Nashville’s knack for keeping games tight, the Golden Knights’ late-game wobbliness, and the price of -160 on +1.5 makes this my favorite angle on the board. I’ll grade Predators +1.5 at B+, reflecting both a strong likelihood of cashing and reasonable, if not spectacular, return for the risk. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 31/12/2025 09:24