Keys to Watch
Building Momentum
After the action-packed, wild finish against the Canucks on Tuesday night, the Predators will look to build upon their win against the Boston Bruins. The Bruins come into Bridgestone Arena after defeating the St. Louis Blues 5-3. The Predators will need to come out aggressive against a very good defensive team in Boston. The hope is to have back some of the injured players but only time will tell due to the optional skate this morning. Nashville has a record of 11-5-5 at Bridgestone Arena this season and will look to push that record even further in the win column. Tuesday night’s overtime win could be a great step in the right direction for a team that struggled during the first half of the season.
The Epitome of an Away Team
With a record of 13-7-5 away from Boston, the Bruins are one of the best teams in the NHL away from their home ice. There are many principles that attribute to their on-going success. First, the Bruins are stocked with veteran talent that many teams can not match. When you have leaders like David Backes, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Brad Marchand, and Zdeno Chara, they are able to push a team to victory when the home crowd is not behind them. Another contributing factor to away success of the Bruins is their defensive presence. The Bruins have the seventh ranked defense in the NHL with 2.43 goals against per game and the second ranked penalty kill with a kill-rate of 87.1%.
Strong on Defense
The Nashville Predators must remain strong on defense tonight. No official word yet, but it is projected that Juuse Saros will be in net tonight. So far this season, Saros has proven himself as a dependable backup and, most likely, the next starting goaltender of the Nashville Predators. Nashville must play to their strengths tonight and give Saros every opportunity for success, if he is in net. He is 3-3-0-1 on the season, only allowing nine goals, with .955 save percentage and 1.29 goals-against average. Saros has the highest save percentage of any goaltender in the Western Conference that has appeared in a minimum of five contests. When he has played, the offense has not shown up. The Preds need to be strong on defense and give the goaltender, whomever it may be, some offensive relief.
Tonight will be a tough test against a strong, dominate, veteran team in the Boston Bruins. Be sure to catch all of the action on Fox Sports-Tennessee or you can listen live on 102.5 The Game. Puck drops at 7:00 pm!
