On Thursday night, the Nashville Predators travelled to Minnesota to take on the Wild for the final game of their 9 day road trip.
Nashville had come off of two straight losses and was looking to get back on track for their first Central division matchup of the 2015–2016 campaign.
Both teams have strong defensive squads, so it was natural that early on there was a defensive struggle. After the first period, neither team was able to score.
Going into the second period, both teams were looking to score and break the stalemate. It wasn’t until 16:06, when Mike Fisher was able to score to give the Preds a 1–0 lead.
Minnesota was able to respond at 17:36 when Marco Scandella scored a power-play goal on Pekka Rinne to tie the game up at 1–1.
During the third period, the Predators wanted to be able to come out with a bang. Twelve seconds into the period, Roman Josi scored to put the Preds up 2-1.
The Predators penalty kill seemed to struggle during this match up because they gave up another power-play goal during the third period to Matt Dumba at 6:51 to once again tie the game up.
It seemed as though the next team to score would be the winner. Both teams were playing with high intensity and bringing a very physical approach.
For the first time in his NHL career as a Nashville Predator, Cody Hodson scored the game-winning goal at 14:39 to give the Predators the 3-2 victory.
Tonight, the Nashville Predators will be welcomed back to Bridgestone Arena as they take on another Central division rival in the St. Louis Blues.
In their last outing, the St. Louis Blues came back from a 5–2 deficit to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 6–5 in overtime.
Keys to Watch
The Boys are Back!
It’s been a while but it’s good to have the Predators back home with the Loyal Legion! The Preds are one of only two teams in the NHL with an undefeated regulation record at 4-0-1 (Montreal, 6-0-1). Look for the Preds to come out spirited and full of energy. The crowd will be hyped tonight!
Pekka Being Pekka
The Nashville Predators are a different team without Rinne. Without Rinne in net, it’s hard to say where Nashville would be due to the inconsistency of Carter Hutton. With Rinne, they are considered one of the elite teams of the NHL with a record of 8-2-2. As the first star of the game against Minnesota, Rinne stopped 29 out of 31 shots and was the difference maker for this Nashville squad. The Predators will need Rinne to continue to be a dominant force in net during this season.
They’ve Got the “Blues”
Evaluating the roster of the St. Louis Blues, one thing stands out. Early on this season, the Blies have been hit with the injury bug. Currently, the Blies have three players on injured reserve. Patrik Berglund has a shoulder injury, Paul Stastny has a broken foot, and Jaden Schwartz is suffering from a fractured left ankle. Since November 5, Brian Elliott and Steve Ott are both considered day-to-day due to an upper body injury. The Blues will need to take advantage of this current status of St. Louis’ lineup. They have to stop Vladimir Tarasenko, but with a depleted lineup, the Preds should take advantage.
The Preds will be welcomed back to Bridgestone Arena after an extended road trip. This current home-stand can build momentum for this franchise. If you can’t make it out to the arena, be sure to catch all of the action on Fox Sports-Tennessee or listen live on 102.5 The Game.
Puck drops at 7:00pm!!
