Keys to Watch
Slowing Down Laine
Tonight, the Nashville Predators will begin Thanksgiving week as they welcome in the Winnipeg Jets to Bridgestone Arena. This will be the first matchup of the season against the two inter-division rivals. The test for Nashville will be slowing down Patrick Laine. The Tampere, Finland has played well over the first 19 games of the regular season
with 15 points (10 goals, 5 assists), but has especially turned it on as of late. Over the last five contests, Laine has three goals and three assist with no slowing down any time soon. It will be imperative for the Preds defense to keep a clamp on the 2nd overall pick of the 2016 draft.
Stay Out of Trouble
The Predators have been living on the wild side over the most recent set of games. Over the past two games, Nashville has committed 12 penalties. Luckily, the penalty kill has been excellent only allowing two power play goals for the opposition. The Predators cannot continue this reckless, undisciplined style of play from this moment on. Nashville is currently 10th in the NHL with a penalty kill percentage of 83.7% but if they continue this style, those numbers could diminish drastically. A little discipline,
structured adjustment could bode well for this organization.
A Surging Craig Smith
The Nashville Predators could always depend on Craig Smith over the past few years to push the puck up ice and make something happen. From 2013-2016, Smith averaged 22.67 goals every season, but last year smith only netted 12 goals on the season. It was a scoring slump that had not been seen in a long time from the Madison, Wisconsin native. With the acquisition of Kyle Turris, it seems that Smith has found his game again with three goals in the past four games, plus an additional assist added into the mix. If Smith can keep up this current trend, the Nashville Predators have another scoring threat added to what’s already one of the deepest teams in the NHL.
Tonight, the Predators will look to win their seventh game in their eighth time out. 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!
