Keys to Watch
Home Sweet Home
The Nashville Predators will make it back to Bridgestone Arena after a tough outing against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night. The Preds will begin a three-game home-stand and will look to get back into the winning column. Coming into Nashville will be the Edmonton Oilers, one team that has made a complete turnaround over their recent past. The Oilers lead the NHL with 88 goals on the road and are second with 20 road power play goals. This is a true Western Conference contender and have the manpower to put together a deep run in the playoffs. Tonight, the Predators will need to use their home-ice advantage to come out with a victory. Nashville is 13-5-6 at home this season, where the Oilers are 15-7-5 on the road.
Keeping McDavid Silent
Tonight’s main threat will be to slow down the play of Connor McDavid. Connor McDavid currently leads the NHL in scoring, with 59 points (17G, 42A) in 51 games. He has a four-point lead on Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. McDavid has led the league in scoring at some point in all four months of the 2016-17 season. In their first meeting of the year, the Predators were able to keep him in check. McDavid is quick, skilled, and knows how to score when given the opportunity.
Scoring First
The Nashville Predators are 15-1-5 when scoring first this season, 9-0-3 when leading after one period, and 17-0-4 when leading after two. The priority tonight will be to get on the board first and allow the defense to do their job. With player returning from injury, the Predators are showing many signs of improvement with playing a more consistent brand of hockey. The Predators have one regulation loss all season when scoring first which leads the NHL.
Tonight, the Predators will look to get back on track as they begin an extended amount of time in Nashville. Be sure to catch all of the action for tonight’s Western Conference showdown on Fox Sports-Tennessee or you can listen live on 102.5 The Game. Puck drops at 7:00 pm!
