The Nashville Predators just took a huge blow to their streaking offense when the team’s leading scorer, Patric Hornqvist, was knocked out of Saturday’s game against the New York Rangers with an undisclosed lower-body injury. The 26-year-old right winger is still questionable for Monday’s matchup, and the team may need to find offensive production from other places if they wish to earn a fourth victory over their last five games.

The Phoenix Coyotes slipped in the standings after losing three of their last four matchups and falling into the No. 8 spot in a competitive Western Conference playoff race. The team hopes to turn things around when they open a two-game road trip against a much-improved Nashville Predators team. Let’s take a closer look at tonight’s Coyotes versus Predators matchup and figure out which side of the game has the most value to wager on.

Coyotes at Predators Betting Story Lines

The Predators just ended a three-game winning steak with a disappointing home loss to the Rangers over the weekend. Nashville was shut out for the fifth time this season and only managed to take 17 shot attempts while allowing the Rangers to take 34 attempts. The team also lost Hornqvist in the first period to a still-unspecified lower-body injury. The former 30-goal scorer had 13 points on the season, with five of those coming during power plays.

Nashville will probably be looking for Shea Weber to provide a spark of offense against the Coyotes since the defenseman has scored four goals to go along with an assist during the past six home meetings against the team. Weber, however, has not earned a point in his last two games, but the Predators have scored 13 goals over their last four matchups, which includes a 7-2 drubbing of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Phoenix is about to begin a stretch where they will play six of their next seven games on the road and are in danger of falling behind in a tough Western Conference if they cannot put a winning streak together soon. The team has lost their last two matchups and three of their last four. Phoenix had a one-goal lead over the Colorado Avalanche with five minutes left in the third period two games ago, and they ended up losing in overtime. The Coyotes then gave up four goals to the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday on only 27 shot attempts.

Goaltender Mike Smith has struggled during the team’s recent slump and has allowed 15 goals on 135 attempts over the last four games. Smith has seen a large amount of volume during the season as the Coyotes allow 35 shot attempts per game while only taking 31.7 themselves.

Coyotes at Predators NHL Betting Odds and Key Trends

Phoenix opened at a slight -115 road favorite over the +104 underdog Predators at BetOnline. The total was set at 5.5 goals, with the “under” being favored at -137. The Coyotes have won six of their last seven matchups against teams with losing records and are 5-1 over their last six games when scoring two goals or fewer during their previous game. However, the team has only won one matchup over their last five against Western Conference teams and is 0-5 during their last five Monday games.

The Predators are 3-8 over their last 11 matchups against teams with winning records above .600 percent. They are also 2-7 during their last nine Monday games and have only won one game over their last five matchups against Pacific Division teams. Head-to-head, the Coyotes have won five of the last six, while the home team is 4-1 over the last five meetings between the teams.

Free NHL Picks: Coyotes at Predators Predictions

The Coyotes and Predators are in the same boat heading into tonight’s game. Both teams are concerned with how they will score goals during their matchup. The Predators are concerned because of injury, while the Coyotes are concerned because they are in a slump. This game feels like a low-scoring affair waiting to happen. Phoenix’s defense and goaltending have put them on a losing streak, and the team will be looking to fix those problems. Nashville, on the other hand, just lost a key offensive player to injury and may be looking to get into a slow, defensive-minded matchup against the Coyotes. Take the under on this one.

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Read more articles by George Monroy