Nashville Predators @ Utah Hockey Club - April 10, 2025

As the Utah Hockey Club prepares to face off against the Nashville Predators on Thursday at Delta Center, there’s a palpable sense of anticipation. The oddsmakers have opened with Utah as -143 moneyline favorites, and given their recent form, it’s easy to see why.

Utah comes into this game riding high after a dominant 7-1 victory over the Kraken. Their offensive stats are impressive: they average 2.8 goals per game with a shooting percentage of 10.2%. This efficiency is complemented by a solid corsi percentage of 52.3%, indicating that they generate more shot attempts than they concede—a key factor in controlling the pace of play. Additionally, their power play operates at an effective 22.97%, which could pose significant challenges for Nashville’s penalty kill.

On the defensive end, Utah boasts an impressive save percentage of 89.2% and an above-average penalty kill rate of 80.85%. These metrics suggest that not only can they score but also effectively limit their opponents’ opportunities—a critical aspect when facing a team like Nashville.

Conversely, the Predators have struggled throughout this season, with a record of 28-42-8 SU and only managing to secure two wins against the spread in their last six games. They average just 2.5 goals per game with a lower shooting percentage of 8.8%. While they do maintain a slightly favorable corsi percentage (52.3%), it hasn’t translated into consistent scoring or victories.

Nashville’s recent performance has been erratic; despite pulling out a thrilling win against the Islanders (7-6), they’ve lost six out of their last seven contests overall and find themselves struggling defensively with an inferior save percentage at 88.3%. Their power play sits at around 21%, which is respectable but not enough to make up for their lackluster goal production.

Given these trends and statistics, I predict that Utah will emerge victorious in this matchup while Nashville manages to cover the spread due to its competitive nature in divisional games—especially considering how tight these matchups often are late in the season.

With both teams showing tendencies toward higher-scoring affairs recently—evidenced by Nashville’s last outing—the total set at 5.5 might be misleading for those expecting another shootout-type game like we saw last time from both sides’ offenses; however, I believe this contest will lean towards being under as both defenses tighten up amidst playoff positioning implications.

In summary, expect Utah to secure a win while Nashville fights hard enough to keep it close enough to cover that spread—setting us up for what should be an intriguing battle between division rivals where data shows trends favoring one side but historical context suggests otherwise!