The New Jersey Devils and Nashville Predators will go at it in the NHL on Thursday night. Both of these teams are on the outside looking in when it comes to playoff positioning in their respective conferences. But both are still in contention to climb into playoff spots and will try to get an important win in this inter-conference game. Before the opening faceoff, I've looked at all the data and made my Predators vs Devils prediction.
Our Predators vs Devils Pick
Pick: Devils ML ATS PRO
Confidence: ★★★☆☆
Game Snapshot
Matchup: Nashville Predators vs New Jersey Devils
Date & Time: Thursday, January 29, 2026, 7:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Broadcast: ESPN+
Key Storylines
Recent form: Nashville has lost two straight games and four of their last five. The Preds most recently lost an overtime game on the road to the Boston Bruins, with Nashville being held to just two goals in back-to-back games. New Jersey has also dropped two straight games, losing to the Winnipeg Jets and Seattle Kraken over that span.
Goaltending: Projected starters for this game are Juuse Saros for Nashville and Jacob Markstrom for New Jersey. Saros sits at 20 wins with a 3.04 GAA and .895 save percentage. If New Jersey turns to Jacob Markstrom, his season has included a GAA of 3.29 and a .879 save percentage, with Jake Allen playing better in net this year.
Key skaters: Nashville’s Ryan O’Reilly leads the team with 51 points, while Steven Stamkos headlines the Preds with 25 goals scored. For New Jersey, captain Nico Hischier leads the team in goals and points, and Jesper Bratt leads them in assists with 27. Jack Hughes remains the primary creator, even if his point totals suffered during his injury absence earlier this season.
Roster notes: New Jersey moved veteran winger Ondrej Palat earlier this week, opening forward minutes for other players. On the injury front, Devils defenseman Luke Hughes is on long‑term injured reserve and Stefan Noesen remains sidelined. Nashville lists Fedor Svechkov as day‑to‑day, with no major blue-line absences reported midweek.
Betting Trends & H2H
This is the first of two head-to-head meetings between the Predators and Devils this season.
The under has gone 29-23 in games involving New Jersey this season.
Nashville has gone over the total in 27 of their first 52 games this year (51.9%).
Predators vs Devils Model Projection
Score Projection: Nashville 2 – New Jersey 3
Win Probability: Nashville 43%, New Jersey 57%
Final Thoughts
The Predators have a losing record on the road this season and I expect them to struggle in their second straight road game here. The Devils have been better defensively throughout the season and that should continue against a Nashville team that is averaging just two goals per game during their current losing streak. I'll take New Jersey to get a win on the moneyline in this Thursday night matchup in the NHL.
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