The Nashville Predators (32-11-6) ended a three-game road trip on Sunday afternoon as they traveled to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins.
This matchup was all Nashville, as the Predators were able to give the Penguins a 4-0 defeat. Carter Hutton was able to be solid in net to receive his 1st shutout of the season.
During the first period, Roman Josi (9) scored at 4:05. Not long after Josi, Gabriel Bourque (3) joined the party with an unassisted goal at 06:38. The Preds hung on and at the end of the first, the score was 2-0.
The only goal of the second period was at 19:19 by Eric Nystrom for his sixth goal of the season. Nashville was able to tack on one more in the third. This was a power play goal by Mike Fisher (12) and there was no doubt that the Preds came to Pittsburgh to play, with a final score of 4-0.
Tonight, the Predators welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs to Bridgestone Arena at 7:00 pm CST.
The Toronto Maple Leafs (22-25-4) last took on the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. In a tough matchup, the Flyers defeated the Maple Leafs 1-0. Former Predator, Michael Del Zotto (5), scored the lone goal of the game at 04:05 of the 1st period, as the Flyers were able to hang on to the win.
On the season, All-Star Phil Kessel leads the Maple Leafs in points with 45. Kessel is 2nd on the team with 20 goals. James van Riemsdyk leads Toronto with 21 goals on the season.
Keys to Watch
Another Blowout?
In November, Nashville defeated Toronto 9-2. When the Maple Leafs come to Bridgestone Arena, they will be looking to return the favor. No team likes to lose, but when you lose in embarrassing fashion on your home ice, retribution will entail. The month of January was not kind to Toronto, as they have not won a game since January 9th (Columbus 5-2). The Leafs will be looking to get back on the winning track and expect to end their 9 game losing streak. Don’t expect a blowout in this match-up.
Ribeiro/Forsberg
Filip Forsberg and Mike Ribeiro are going back-and-forth for the team lead in points. Currently, Forsberg leads the team in points with 44, but Ribeiro is not far behind him with 43 points. This healthy competition will be good for the team as the Predators continue to put up points.
Colin Wilson
Colin Wilson has set out this season on a scoring trend that is nothing but positive. Wilson is currently two points away from matching his personal best of 35 points (2011-12). He is also one goal away from tying his career best of 16 goals in a season. In 47 games this season, Wilson is showing his ability to score and create for others. With the Predators still having a long way to go this season, this Greenwich, CT native looks to blow his career numbers out of the water.
Tonight, at 7:00 pm CST, the Nashville Predators look to extend their lead in the Central Division as they take on a struggling Eastern Conference team. Bridgestone Arena will be hopping as the Preds make it back home. If you can’t make it out to the arena, you can catch the game on Fox Sports Tennessee or you can listen live on 102.5 The Game.
