The Vancouver Canucks can punch their tickets to the second round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs with a win in Game 5 of their series with the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night.
After dropping Game 2 of their best-of-seven series, things got dicey on the road: the Canucks needed a serious comeback, an overtime goal, and big saves from their third-string goalie to leave Tennessee with two wins. And yet, here we are. Vancouver is now sitting on a commanding 3-1 series lead, and a chance to close things out in front of their home crowd.
Bet on Predators vs. Canucks Game 5
The Canucks have fought adversity and have come out on the other side smelling like roses. Can they make it count at home and seal the series?
Let’s get into our betting preview for Game 5.
Predators vs. Canucks best odds
| Predators Moneyline Odds | +106 @ Pinnacle |
| Canucks Moneyline Odds | -117 @ Pinnacle |
| Puckline odds | Canucks -1.5 (+222) @ Pinnacle Predators +1.5 (-244) @ PROLINE + |
| Series odds | Canucks -900, Predators +600 (bet365) |
| Total | Over 5.5 goals (-109) @ Pinnacle Under 5.5 goals (-103) @ Pinnacle |
| Time/Date | April 30, 10:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | Broadcast: Sportsnet Stream: Sportsnet+ (How to watch the NHL in Canada?) |
Last matchup (Game 4)
There’s a lot of talk about “deserving” to win a particular game. One team drastically outplays the other, yet the latter finds a way to win the game. That could not have been truer than Game 4 of this series between the Canucks and Predators.
On the whole, the Canucks finished with just 21 shots, but that is all they would need. For 55 minutes of the contest, the Predators suffocated and stifled the vaunted Canucks’ attack. With a 3-1 lead and the clock ticking past the 17:00 mark, things seemed bleak for the Canucks.
But then Brock Boeser, who had opened the evening’s scoring, tallied a pair in the final 2:49 – including tying the game with just :08 left – to send the game into overtime. An excellent setup by Conor Garland found the tape of Elias Lindholm’s stick at 1:02 of the extra period and the Canucks found themselves with an improbable win.
Betting Nashville Predators (1-3 SU, 1-3 ATS, 2-2 o/u)
If you are in the Predators locker room or one of their diehard fans, how can you not be frustrated? For long stretches of this series, it felt like the Predators were the dominant team, and you wouldn’t have known just from watching that they were the underdog going in. On balance, it really wouldn’t be unfair if they were the team up 3-1.
And yet here we are, with Nashville on the verge of elimination. In two games so far, the Predators have had a chance to put the Canucks away and failed to do so. Joshua’s two goals in Game 1 gave them the late edge; Boeser’s heroic effort bought the Canucks enough time to steal the game in overtime in Game 4.
What is working for the Predators is obvious to those watching. They do an excellent job of forcing the smaller Canucks forwards to the perimeter, where getting shots through has proven to be extremely difficult. They are also winning many of the one-on-one battles in the tough areas of the ice.
It’s an old cliché, but the Predators need to focus on one game at a time. What has happened has happened, and there’s no going back. Everyone is going to need to sell out to stop the Canucks from closing out the series.
Betting Vancouver Canucks (3-1 SU, 3-1 ATS, 2-2 o/u)
The Canucks have to consider themselves to be fortunate given how things have played out. They needed a late effort from Joshua to escape Game 1 with a win. After dropping Game 2, the Canucks managed just 12 shots but still wound up winning Game 3.
As a whole, the Canucks have struggled to get shots on net throughout the series. Though the Predators have dominated the series in terms of blocked shots, it was ironically the 28 blocked shots by the Canucks that helped propel them to a win in Game 3.
The Canucks’ weakness that has become abundantly clear in this series is their size. Smaller players like defenceman Quinn Hughes have been bullied by this much stronger, tougher Predators team. In one-on-one battles, the Predators have come out on top more often than not. While they’ve gotten away with it so far, alarm bells will be ringing should the Canucks get deeper into the playoffs.
The one major bright spot for the Canucks in this series has been goaltending. After Thatcher Demko went down with an injury, many feared for the remainder of the Canucks’ season. Backup Casey DeSmith had a rough Game 2 but rebounded with a stellar Game 3. When he couldn’t answer the bell in Game 4, rookie Arturs Silovs stepped in and made 27 huge saves. Goaltending has been huge for the Canucks in this series, to say the least.
Projected Predators and Canucks lines
| Today’s Vancouver Canucks Lines | Today’s Nashville Predators Lines |
|---|---|
| Forwards Pius Suter – J.T. Miller – Brock Boeser Nils Hoglander – Elias Pettersson – Ilya Mikheyev Dakota Joshua – Elias Lindholm – Conor Garland Phil Di Giuseppe – Teddy Blueger – Sam Lafferty Defence Quinn Hughes – Filip Hronek Carson Soucy – Noah Juulsen Ian Cole – Nikita Zadorov Starting In Goal Arturs Silovs Playoffs: 1-0, 3.05 GAA, .900 SV% | Forwards Filip Forsberg – Ryan O’Reilly – Gustav Nyquist Mark Jankowski – Tommy Novak – Luke Evangelista Anthony Beauvillier – Colton Sissons – Jason Zucker Kiefer Sherwood – Michael McCarron – Kiefer Sherwood Defence Donte Fabbro – Roman Josi Jeremy Lauzon – Alexandre Carrier Ryan McDonagh – Luke Schenn Starting In Goal Juuse Saros Playoffs: 1-1-0, 2.01 GAA, 0.895 SV% Season: 35-24-5, 2.86 GAA, 0.906 SV% |
Though things could change at the last minute, but it looks as though the youngster Silovs will get the nod again. DeSmith was the EBUG (emergency backup goalie) for Game 3, so that could be an indication that he just needed a night off to recover from whatever he is dealing with. Other than that, it’s status quo for both teams throughout the lineup.
Juuse Saros under 24.5 saves
Predators vs. Canucks injury concerns
As mentioned, DeSmith is dealing with an undisclosed injury suffered late in Game 3. If he can’t go, Silovs will be in net and Nikita Tolopilo will serve as backup. Good news for the Canucks: defenceman Tyler Myers took a puck to the face in Game 4 but he’ll be back in the lineup for Game 5.
NHL betting trends
- The Canucks finished the regular season sixth in the NHL in goals with 279 (3.40 per game). It has been a struggle so far in these playoffs, however. They are averaging 2.75 goals per contest but only had three combined in Games 2 and 3. As a result, the over/under has been inconsistent (2-2 in the series).
- Covering the spread has not come easy to the Predators. They are just 1-3 in the series, failing to cover twice as home favourites. Going back to their 2022 first-round sweep at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche, the Predators are just 2-6 ATS in their last eight playoff games.
- The Canucks have been in a dogfight in this series. The last two games in the series have been one-goal affairs, but their status as the road team (and puckline underdog) has allowed them to cover in each of the last two games. They also managed to cover as 1.5-goal favourites in Game 1, giving them a surprising 3-1 ATS series record.
NHL player prop trends
- Boeser has been something of a revelation since his last playoff appearance, a mediocre 1-2-3 line against the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round of the 2020 playoffs. He has four goals and an assist through four games, second only to linemate J.T. Miller (six points).
- For the Predators, Filip Forsberg continues to drive the offence. He leads Nashville in scoring with four points in four games. He has also scored in two of the contests so far, adding to his franchise-leading playoff totals.
- Speaking of Miller, he has quietly been very good for the Canucks in a series where they have struggled to find offence. He had points in two of three games rolling into Game 4, when he nabbed another three helpers in the come-from-behind victory.
Predators vs. Canucks predictions
- In a do-or-die game, look for the Predators to sell out on every shot. They have dominated the blocked shots category for the most part, keeping the Canucks to lower shot totals. Look for that to happen again and take the under (5.5, -103 @ Pinnacle) in what should be a tight Game 5.
- The Canucks have topped out at 21 shots twice in this series, failing to get past 18 in Game 2 and Game 3. For that reason, one of the easiest bets you can make is for Saros to make less than 24.5 saves (-102 @ Betano) in what should be a game dominated by blocked shots.
- Elias Pettersson has had a very quiet series to date with just two assists in four games. Look for him to break out of the funk and get on the scoresheet by registering at least one point (over 0.5, -150 @ Betway) as the Canucks close out the series.
