Wild Game Day number 29 Wild Record (16-8-4 36 pts) Road Record (6-5-4)
Opponent: Nashville Predators (13-11-4 30 pts) Home Record (10-2-2)
Site: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN
Time: 7:00PM CT
TV: Fox Sports North (FSN)
Last season result: 11/4 Predators 3 @ Wild 2 11/21 Predators 0 @ Wild 4 12/19 Wild 2 @ Predators 3 1/16 Wild 0 @ Predators 3
The Wild travel to Nashville for their first meeting with the Predators this season. Nashville is coming off an impressive 6-3 home win over St. Louis Tuesday night. After spotting the Blues a 3-0 lead the Predators scored two goals in the second and added four more in the third to seal the win.
The Wild of course are on their own roll having won five in a row and unbeaten in six straight in regulation. Always a tough place to play, Bridgestone Arena will provide Bruce Boudreau and the Wild another good measuring stick as they work to become one of the league's elite.
Five straight wins have gotten the Wild into 2nd place in the Central and the Blackhawks are back in site. It is only December, but points are critical in the standings no matter what time of year it is. As we all are well aware the Wild have had past issues through late December and January leaving them too far out of the race to contend for anything but a wildcard position.
The team has taken on a new persona under Boudreau though. They are becoming a much tougher team to play against on a nightly basis. The fourth line has been a real spark and Kurtis Gabriel is quickly making a name for himself in the physical department. I am not saying fighting is the answer but to see that the Wild are not going to be pushed around is a big step in making them a much more difficult opponent.
Nashville is a tough place to play for opposing teams and this year is no different as the Predators bring a 10-2-2 home record into tonight's contest with the Wild. The Predators made a huge splash in the offseason trading captain Shea Weber to Montreal in exchange for P.K. Subban. Subban joins a very talented cast in Nashville which includes another key acquisition from last season Ryan Johansen. The transformation of the Predators has taken some time to show positive results but the talent is there for them to be a real force as the season moves along.
The Wild penalty kill has been spectacular killing off the last eight opponent powerplay opportunities 24 of the last 25. The will need to be a little more disciplined than they were in the game Tuesday versus Florida in which they were forced to kill five Panther powerplays in the 5-1 victory.
Let's Play Hockey!