Two teams who need to prove something to their fanbases meet in Bridgestone Arena to settle who is better
Just the Facts
- The Time: 8:45pm EST
- The Place: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
- Place to Watch: NESN
- Place to Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub
- An Opposing Viewpoint: On The Forecheck
Know Your Enemy
- The Preds are winless as of this writing, which has them down all the way at the bottom of the Central Division with no points.
- Filip Forsberg leads the team with 5 points, and is tied for the team lead in goals with 2 in 5 games.
- Steven Stamkos finally got his first goal on the 19th against Detroit, not that it helped much.
- Okay, this kid hasn’t seen much NHL time but I’m telling you right now from having watched a lot of AHL playoff hockey that the decision to bring up Zachary L’Heureux means every last one of your stars need to be very aware when he’s around. He’s enormously talented but also a complete headcase who’s liable for an absolutely backbreaking penalty twice a game.
- Juuse Saros and Scott Wedgewood are both sub-.900 in net, but Saros still leads the team with an .875 SV%.
Game Notes
Boston’s last game was a miserable slog in which they ultimately allowed Utah to win through sheer speed and possession. If there’s any consolation that they can take for wasting an effort like that one, there’s two things:
- Number One: It went to overtime, and thus they got a point out of the ordeal. Not a bad thing as the division begins to tighten up considerably!
- Number Two: While their start to the season hasn’t been perfect, it hasn’t been nearly as bad as Nashville’s.
The Preds spent big this offseason to get more scoring, and have since…done absolutely nothing of the sort; they have the worst goal differential in the Central Division, have yet to win a game, and in general look like they’ve been getting
So, should we be looking at this squad like they’re gonna be playing a San Jose or a Detroit?
Absolutely not.
If there’s anything the early returns have indicated with Nashville, it’s that they are stupendously, unimaginably unlucky. Their PDO is among the worst in the league, and their ability to generate quality shots feels like it’s actively playing against the fact that they get a lot of shot attempts through. The Preds are not necessarily dead, just gravely wounded. A team like Boston, who probably needs to re-orient their narrative away from the various accusations of cardio merchantry, needs to pounce on their foe and take advantage of the fact that they seem to be completely incapable of holding a lead, nor controlling their game totally.
More than anything, it would make for an excellent get-right game.