Keys to Watch
Home-Ice Advantage
The Nashville Predators have fared quite well this season at Bridgestone Arena. The Predators are 5-1-1 this season in Nashville with their only regulation loss being on October 18th against the Dallas Stars. The Predators have accomplished great things at home this season, but this week will be a tough test with match-ups against Tampa Bay, Dallas, and Winnipeg. All three teams are in the top 12 in the NHL in goals scored this season, top 14 in goals scored per game, and top 16 in shots per game. The Preds will have their hands full this week with top-notch competition.
Life Without Stamkos
The Tampa Bay Lightning were expected to be contenders in the Eastern Division, and possibly make another run towards the Stanley Cup, but hit a snag when their leader, Steven Stamkos became injured. Best case scenario for the Lightning is that Stamkos will miss four months due to a torn meniscus, but could be project to miss as much as six months putting his return in late May. Until his injury, the Markham, Ontario native had nine goals and eleven assists on the season. This set-back for the team is not an easy one, but the team looks poised winning four straight on the road coming into Nashville tonight. They might not have Stamkos, but this is a dangerous team, nonetheless.
Penalty Kill in November
After a rough start to the season on the penalty kill, the Nashville Predators have clamped down to play exceptionally well in the month of November when down a man. The Predators have a 96.7% stoppage rate on the penalty kill. During the month of November, the Predators are 29 of 30 in stopping the man-advantage and have raised their penalty kill percentage on the year to 82.5% which places them 15th in the NHL. The Predators will need to continue this trend against a dynamic Tampa Bay Lightning offense who are currently ranked 2nd in the NHL with a conversion rate of 26.4% on the power-play.
Tonight, the Predators come back to Bridgestone Arena looking to get back on track after their loss against the Blues on Saturday night. 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!
