I can only imagine how happy the Nashville Predators were to see their own beds, closets, cars and families after road trip that was right out of the 80’s classic “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” I think the only thing that went right on the road trip was where it counts… on the ice. As the Buffalo Sabres hit town tonight for the first of two inter-conference matchups this week at Bridgestone Arena, the Preds are looking to post a four game win streak for the first time this season and keep pushing this hot streak as far as they possibly can.
They now have a home heavy schedule after spending most of January on the road, Nashville plays 11 of their next 16 games at Bridgestone Arena with a real chance to gain some ground on the division leaders and put some distance between them and the peloton chasing.
Buffalo comes to town on a bit of a roll as well, winning three of their past four, posting solid wins over Dallas, Detroit and Montreal… the last two in overtime. Tonight is game two of a four game road trip for the Sabres as they hit Dallas Thursday then back to Montreal after the All-Star break.
Buffalo is battling injuries to their blueline (sounds familiar) but a key player is close to coming back for the Sabres, Dmitry Kulikov is still listed on injured reserve as I write this, but was a full participant in practice yesterday before Buffalo left for Nashville and is travelling with the team. The Nashville injury report remains fairly steady with Petter Granberg, Miikka Salomaki, Colin Wilson and Roman Josi all still listed on IR. Colin Wilson may be the closest to return as he has been practicing with the team, Roman Josi is also rumored to be close to return as well.
The challenge for Nashville is to continue the simplified, grittier game they have adopted over the past two weeks. The kind of game that has resulted in the Predators taking six of their last seven and rescuing a season that was teetering on the brink of disaster... consistency is the watchword for Nashville. The Preds have been stronger defensively than this observer has seen in quite a few seasons over this stretch, more responsible with the puck and when the inevitable breakdown comes, relying on simply excellent goaltending from Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros. It has been a successful receipe.
There are a couple of familiar faces on this Buffalo team, Cal O’Reilly and Cody Franson are both ex-Predators. O’Reilly spent parts of four seasons with Nashville, Franson has been with Nashville twice, breaking into the league in ’09, playing two season in Nashville before being traded to Toronto as part of the ill-fated Matthew Lombardi deal… then was traded back to Nashville in ’15 in another not-so-good deal that didn't exactly work out well. Cody appears to have found a home with the Sabres.
A key concern for Pred Nation heading into tonight’s game may be Buffalo’s dominance of Nashville in Music City. Historically, the Sabres are 7-4-0 inside the friendly confines of Bridgestone Arena, a little history for the Predators to get past… the two teams split the season series last season, each winning on the road.
Game time is 7pm tonight, pregame starts at 6pm on 102.5 the Game and 6:30pm on Fox Sports Tennessee. There are limited tickets available for tonight’s game.
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Random Notes
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Where We Stand – After last night’s play, the Nashville Predators have 53 points in 47 games played and stand 3rd in the Central Division, trailing the division leaders by 12 points. Nashville leads 4th place St. Louis by two points, the Blues are in the first Wild Card slot, Calgary is in the second slot tied in points with the Blues, but St. Louis has three games in hand over the Flames.
- The Preds haven’t allowed more than two goals in 10 of their last 12 games.
- Peter Laviolette’s 500th win was historic in a second way, he is only the second US born head coach to win 500.
- Filip Forsberg is tearing it up right now, six points in his last six games including four… yes four game winning goals.
- Nashville’s man-games lost to IR is now up to 150 for the season.
- Circle February 11/12 on your calendar as the NHL Centennial Fan Arena will be in Nashville. It is being called a “touring tribute to a century of hockey thrills and fun for the whole family.” More details to come
- Patrick Marleau scored four goals in a period last night including three in 7:42… Given the lack of headlines, I guess Joe Thorton did not advise on the celebration… He is only the 12th player in NHL history to achieve that feat.
- Ten games in the NHL tonight, all times CST – 6pm – DET @ BOS, LAK @ NJD, CBJ @ NYI, STL @ PIT. 6:30pm – CGY @ MTL, WSH @ OTT. 7pm – BUF @ NSH, SJS @ WPG. 7:30pm – TBL @ CHI, MIN @ DAL.
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