The Nashville Predators went into Arizona looking forward to the challenge of facing a Western Conference team, thinking it was going to be a close one. The match started out like a back-and-forth with Arizona striking first, and the Preds answered. They never looked back as they won against the Coyotes 5-1. After a strong start to this western swing, the Nashville Predators look for a clean sweep of this road trip as they play the San Jose Sharks tonight at SAP Center in San Jose.
In their last outing, the Sharks (16-11-4) were able to defeat the Minnesota Wild 2-1. The Sharks were able to start the game off with a power play goal from Brent Burns at 14:51 of the 2nd period.
The Wild were able to tie up the game with a goal from Christian Folin at 1:03 of the 3rd, but Joe Pavelski was able to tie the game 45 seconds later with the game winner.
San Jose is currently being led in points by Patrick Marleau with 27. Joe Pavelski is currently leading the team in goals with 15.
Keys to watch
Sharks Points Machine
With six players currently over 20 points, the San Jose Sharks know how to put up points. The Sharks have 11 more goals than the Preds do on the season, but their struggle has been in goal. The Preds will have to contend with the offensive prowess of the Sharks. They get a lot of pucks on the net which can cause lots of trouble. It will take a complete defensive effort to stop the Sharks. For the Preds to stop the Sharks, Nashville will have to get a strong effort from Pekka Rinne.
SJS vs NSH Powerplay
One is ranked 3rd, the other is tied at 28th. If you follow the Preds, its not hard to tell the one that belongs to Nashville. The Preds MUST stay out of the box tonight because the Sharks will make you pay. With Pavelski, Marleau, Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, the Preds will have to contend with offensively-gifted players for San Jose. Stay out of the BOX!
Ribeiro, a great fit!
Going into the season, most had heard of the troubles of Mike Ribeiro when he was with Arizona. Ribeiro has proven to be a great addition to this organization, tied for first on the team in assists with 17. Ribeiro has been a sparkplug on the first line with Forsberg and Neal. Hopefully, the spark that he is giving this team can continue as they drive toward the top of the Western Conference.
The Preds look for another win as they compete against the Sharks tonight at the Shark Tank. This will be a late game with a 9:30 CST start. You can catch the game on FS-TN or you can listen live at 102.5 The Game. Remember to follow @PenaltyBoxRadio on Twitter and find us on Facebook.
