It’s Game Night in Smashville and tonight’s matchup is a fascinating one. Two teams that have tons of expectation heaped on them… two teams that have not lived up to those expectations… two teams that are looking for answers meet tonight as the Nashville Predators host the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Lightning stand 6th in the Atlantic Division, a point behind Montreal, three points behind Toronto. The Lightning stand five points behind Pittsburgh for the last wild card slot in the east. Certainly not where they were expected to be. Their big advantage is games-in-hand as Tampa has at least 2 GIH over every team they are chasing. The Nashville Predators stand 5th in the Central, five points behind Dallas and Winnipeg for third in the division and they are three points out of the last wild card slot in the West. Not optimal for sure… The Preds have the same GIH advantage, they hold at least 2 GIH over the teams they are chasing.
The bugaboo for Nashville is consistency… when the offense is firing, the defense is leaky… when the defense is strong, special teams go south… when the goaltending is excellent, many of the efforts get wasted by a lack of scoring. It’s a frustrating conundrum to be in as the team needs to put a horrendous November behind them and get off to a good start in December.
That being said… the team did finish November by taking seven of ten points… and taking them while not exactly playing their best hockey.
Head Coach Peter Laviolette pulled out the blender at practice yesterday and shook the lines up a bit… moving Matt Duchene to wing with Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen and put Kyle Turris (!) in between Calle Jarnkrok and Mikael Granlund. The #FreeKyleTurris hashtag looks like it might be retired if the lines from yesterday’s practice hold up.
Tampa is looking to snap a three game losing streak, I would expect to see Andrei Vasilevskiy in net, he has had a rocky start to his season, going 9-7-1 with a .906 Save % and a GAA of 2.96. Pekka Rinne bounced back from a three game break on Friday with a stellar shutout of the Carolina Hurricanes… I would anticipate Rinne getting the nod tonight. Both teams are fairly healthy with only Viktor Arvidsson on IR for either team.
Game time is 7pm in Smashville, coverage on 102.5 the Game and Fox Sports Tennessee. Very limited tickets remain for tonight’s matchup… see you at the Bridge!
-------------------------------------
Random Notes – Presented by
- We’re going streaking – Nashville has gained at least a point in nine straight against Tampa Bay.
- He’s Heating Up! – Mikael Granlund has seven points in his last nine games. Nice to see.
- The Preds have three days off after tonight… light week.
- Wow… the New Jersey Devils got absolutely hammered last night in Buffalo. Trouble in Newark…
- San Jose’s Brent Burns is scheduled to skate in his 500th consecutive game tonight.
- Tonight’s games – 6pm – CAR @ BOS, NYI @ MTL, MIN @ FLA, VGK @ NJD, TOR @ PHI, ARI @ CBJ. 7pm TBL @ NSH, DAL @ WPG. 9pm – OTT @ VAN. 9:30pm – WSH @ SJS.
--------------------------------------
SlapShot Radio is back for our 12th season as Zack, Brent and I are now on Monday night’s this season. The best hour of hockey talk on the longest running hockey show in the southeast … 7pm Mondays on 102.5 the Game.
Our sponsor list continues to grow. Not only are we welcoming back
Drs. Jane Bacon and Aileen Kruger at Hermitage Family and Cosmetic Dentistry … make your appointment at (615) 872-7762 and our good friend Carter Church, Your Murfreesboro real estate expert with Weichert – The Andrews Group. And our newest sponsors…
Cool Springs Wines and Spirits! The largest spirit store in all of middle Tennessee! And La-Z-Boy Nashville! Three locations, locally owned and operated, check out La-Z-Boy in Murfreesboro, Hendersonville and Cool Springs!
---------------------------------------
-------------------------------------
KINDLE USERS: Please subscribe to Predators Buzz, a one-stop feed for all things Predators-related on HockeyBuzz. Your subscription includes a free 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month thereafter. For more information,
click here.
Nashville Predators Blogger •Predators Radio Network • 
Join the Discussion:
»