On Saturday night, the Nashville Predators welcomed in the Winnipeg Jets for an important Central division battle at Bridgestone Arena. The Preds dominated from start to finish with a 7-0 win.
The Preds would score four goals in the first period from Calle Jarnkrok (3) at 4:45.
Craig Smith would score at 5:58. The, Seth Jones would get his first of the year at 12:01.
Mike Ribeiro would join the scoring party at 14:33, and the first period would be the best period of hockey that the Preds have put together all season with a 4-0 lead by the intermission.
The second period would be a little closer between the two squads, but would also bring the penalties. In the first period, both teams would put together only four minutes of time in the box. In the last two periods, the two teams would amass 152 penalty minutes. At one point, both penalty boxes was for standing room only!
The second period had one goal from James Neal at 2:56. This would be Neal’s eighth goal of the season. The third period would be more of the same from the Preds as they would put up two more goals. Both goals were power-play goals. The first was by Calle Jarnkrok at 11:51.
The last goal of the game for Nashville was by Mattias Ekholm (3) at 13:33.
Tonight, the Preds will switch their focus to the Anaheim Ducks as they come into Bridgestone Arena for the second time this season. In their last trip to Nashville, the Preds dominated the Ducks 5-1.
Anaheim won their last match against Carolina 4-1.
Keys to Watch
Final Game of the Home Stand
The Nashville Predators have enjoyed a successful home stand at Bridgestone Arena. Over the past five home games, the Preds have amassed a record of 2-1-1 and put up 15 goals over this span. Tonight will be their last home game until November 28th against the Buffalo Sabres. After tonight, the Preds will go on a five game, East coast road trip with matches against the Wild, Flyers, Sabres, Rangers, and Blue Jackets.
Anaheim’s Offense
The offense for the Ducks, traditionally one of the top in the NHL with players such as Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, are ranked last with 32 goals on the season. Perry leads the team with 11 points, yet this is down from his usual production. The Ducks are ranked last in goals for per game with an average of 1.78. This team can be extremely dangerous, but they haven’t showed that yet this season with a record of 6-8-4.
Consistency
This most recent home stand has shown a glaring issue with this team, consistency on offense. Nashville will score seven goals in one game, the next will get zero. They are needing offensive consistency. An average of three goals per game should be the benchmark for this team. With solid goaltending in Pekka Rinne, if they can put up three goals per game, they should win. Look for tonight to be an offensive explosion or minimal scoring, at best.
The Nashville Predators will be focused on finishing off this home stand with a win. Be sure to catch all of the action on Fox Sports-Tennessee or you can listen live on 102.5 The Game.
