It’s a stormy day in Nashville as the threat of heavy weather hangs over the city for tonight’s game in Smashville. The Predators will take on their third consecutive Atlantic Division opponent as the Toronto Maple Leafs blow into town. The Leafs are sitting pretty in the playoff race with 87 points… pretty, but not locked in yet.
Toronto is the team of the future in the NHL, led by an incredible class of rookies, coached by a proven winner. The Maple Leafs are ahead of schedule in their return to relevance. No one could’ve seen this coming this year… scoring? Three rookies… Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner lead the team in points. This trio of youth will be the driving force of this team for at least the next ten years… which means things are in good shape in Leaf-land.
For Nashville tonight… this is the most dangerous of teams… a team that knows it is ahead of schedule and playing with house money. They are playing loose, with little expectations… at least for this year. Nashville of course has a different take. Expectations have been sky-high for this team since “the trade… and they have struggled to reach them. Lately, the Predators have come together, the chemistry is finally there and they have sustained a solid period of play, with excellent results for the last month or so.
In net tonight, word from around Toronto has Frederik Andersen ready to return to the lineup. The Preds haven’t named their starter yet, and it may be anybody’s guess. Would I be surprised if it was Juuse Saros? Nope… giving Rinne just a bit of extra rest before the final push may be just what the doctor ordered as a division back-to-back is coming up this weekend.
On the injury front, David Poile said in an interview with 102.5 the Game that Mike Fisher may be ready to return to the lineup tonight, Yannick Weber is still listed as day-to-day… the depth he accumulated over the trade season certainly paid off as the captain and a veteran d-man have out of the lineup for the past few games. Toronto is battling through some injuries as well, including Nikita Soshnikov, Josh Leivo and Eric Fehr.
The Leafs are looking for a sweep of the season series, this should be an interesting one tonight. Be in your seat at puck drop because this one could get decided early… real early as Toronto leads the league in first period goals with 80, 14 of them from Auston Matthews. The Predators have to come out with plenty of jump in the first period, no slow start tonight or it could be deadly.
Game time is 7pm, coverage on the Predators Radio Network and Fox Sports Tennessee. Very limited tickets remain.
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Last night’s SlapShot Radio
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Random Notes
- Where We Stand – After yesterday’s play, the Nashville Predators have 89 points in 76 games played and are now in the 2nd Wild Card slot, one point behind St. Louis for 3rd spot in the Central and one point behind Calgary for the first Wild Card slot with a game in hand on the Flames. Per sportsclubstats.com, the Predators playoff chances are at 99.9%.
- Impact Game(s) Tonight - Wild Card implications as ANA, SJS and EDM are all in action.
- If the Playoffs Started Today - As the 8 seed in the West, the Predators would play the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round.
- Teams that have clinched playoff spots - No new playoff teams last night. Nine down, seven to go… Washington, Chicago, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, New York Rangers, Anaheim, San Jose, and Edmonton have punched their tickets.
- Playoff “Tragic Numbers… - In the West… Los Angeles = 3. In the East… Carolina = 11, Tampa Bay = 12, New York Islanders = 11. (Stick tap to Damian Echecarrieta for this data)
- Tonight is Peter Laviolette’s 1000th game behind an NHL bench as head coach. He is only the 2nd US born and 27th overall to achieve this mark.
- Toronto’s power play is lethal, converting at 23.3%, good for second in the NHL.
- The NHL announced that they would make the expansion draft lists public.
- The league also announced that two games will be played in China next season.
- Flames pest Matthew Tkachuk is making a name for himself… calling out Drew Doughty for complaining to the media while talking to the media… does anyone else see the irony of that statement?
- Nine games in the NHL tonight, all times CST – 6pm – NYI @ PHI, CBJ @ CAR. 6:30pm – DAL @ BOS, FLA @ MTL, DET @ TBL. 7pm – TOR @ NSH, OTT @ MIN, ANA @ WPG. 8pm – SJS @ EDM.
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