The break is over and the Nashville Predators are in Florida to take on the Panthers in Sunrise. Florida has seemed to have had the Preds number this year… preview coming after I review the schedule for the month of Fenruary. February is the beginning of the playoff push and the Predators are well positioned.
February is a very home heavy portion of the schedule, nine of the 14 games will be inside the friendly confines of Bridgestone Arena. There are three back-to-backs, seven games against Central division foes and eight of the 14 opponents are in playoff position as the month begins.
As I wrote earlier, the Preds start the month in Sunrise to take of the pesky Panthers, they return immediately to play six of their next seven at Bridgestone Arena. Dallas visits tomorrow, Arizona on Tuesday, Dallas again on Thursday in a strange schedule quirk.
The NWHL All-Stars come to town for the weekend of February 9th and 10th. The skills competition will be at Ford Ice Center on Saturday after the Predators play a matinee in St. Louis, the Preds take on those same Blues on Sunday for a nationally TV game at 11:30am on Sunday, followed by the NWHL All-Star Game. The home stand continues with a couple of Original Six teams as Detroit and Montreal finish the homestand.
The Predators hit the road for two after that visiting Vegas and then heading to Dallas for the third game of the month against the Stars. Nashville returns home for three, playing LA, Colorado and Edmonton for a Monday night tilt before finishing the back-to-back and the month in St. Louis.
Tonight’s game is a 6pm start at the BB&T Center. Florida is looking to sweep the season series with Nashville after a 4-2 win over the Preds in Smashville two weeks ago. Nashville had a spirited practice yesterday before taking off for the Sunshine State. The team is looking at the next 30 games as a reset in many ways… especially for the team’s decidedly “unspecial… special teams. The power play has not been anything close to good, the penalty kill has been inconsistent at best. This area must improve.
The Panthers are starting an 11 in 12 game at home stretch. They only have to leave home once between now and February 23rd. Playoff hopes for Florida are not high… they trail the last wild card slot in the east by 11 points and have to leap over six teams to get there, an almost impossible task.
The Preds still list Kyle Turris, Miikka Salomaki and Zac Rinaldo on IR, they also called up Colin Blackwell from the Admirals to rejoin the team to replace Austin Watson’s roster spot. The Panthers come in fairly healthy with only Derek MacKenzie on IR.
Tonight is the beginning of a back-to-back for Nashville, which probably means we will see Pekka Rinne one night and Juuse Saros the other in net. Game time is 6pm. ------------------------------------
The Where We Stand section
As play resumes for the Preds tonight, Nashville is in the second slot in the Central Division, four points behind the Winnipeg Jets, Winnipeg holds one game in hand over Nashville. The Preds lead Minnesota by nine points, Dallas by ten points and Colorado by 12 points.
Nashville currently holds the 4 seed in the Western Conference playoff race and has a 99.6% chance of making the playoffs according to SportsClubStats.com… the “85% chance… line stands at 90 points right now.
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Random Notes
- Milwaukee Update –The Admirals are back in action tomorrow night, hosting the Manitoba Moose.
- Waiver wire – Anthony Bitetto was claimed by the Minnesota Wild. I will miss him, great guy who deserves a chance to be a regular player.
- Spreading it Around – At the break, the Predators have five players in double digit goals, led by Arvy’s 19 and Forsberg’s 18. Ryan Johansen leads the team in points with 43.
- Event – The Skills Competition is always one of the most fun parts of All-Star Weekend. It’s tonight as festivities this season are on Friday and Saturday vs. the usual Saturday/Sunday.
- PK on the TV – PK Subban’s All-Star Special airs tonight after the skills competition.
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