On Saturday night, the St. Louis Blues came into Bridgestone Arena and dominated the Preds on home ice with a 4-0 decision.
St. Louis got their first goal of the game at 8:23 of the first period by Colton Parayko (5) due to a power-play. There was no scoring in the second period, so the Preds were going into the third down 1-0.
The third period was ALL Blues. They would score three goals in a matter of 10:21, Alex Pietrangelo (1), Scottie Upshall (3), and Alexander Steen (8). With the 4-0 loss, this was the first time this season that the Preds were shutout. The last time the Preds were shutout at home was on November 11th, 2014.
The Predators will look to rebound tonight as they take on the Ottawa Senators at Bridgestone Arena.
In their last outing, the Senators lost to the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in overtime.
Keys to Watch
Is it possible?
The Nashville Predators are currently ranked second in the NHL with a total of 31.8 shots per game. They are only 0.1 shots per game out of first place behind the Buffalo Sabres. So, the question needs to be asked, “Is it better to have quantity or quality shots?” The team is not having any problem getting shots on net, but they seem to not have the scoring touch. Will it fix itself in time? Should they crash the net more? What about more traffic in front of the net? Currently, the Nashville Predators are ranked 23rd in the NHL with 33 goals on the season.
Penalty Kill Struggles
In the game against St. Louis, Nashville was exposed as a team with a struggling penalty kill unit. They have given up multiple goals on the penalty kill over the past few games. Currently, the Nashville penalty kill is ranked 17th in the NHL with a percentage of 80.0. The team cannot afford to give up more goals while the other team has a man advantage, therefore they need to stay out of the box! Keep an eye on tonight’s special teams match-up. Currently the Ottawa Senators are ranked 26th in the NHL with a power-play percentage of 13.9.
Young Forward Help
Colin Wilson. Six points. Craig Smith. Three points. Gabriel Bourque. One point. The Nashville offense needs more production out of these three players. Currently, between these three players, there is a collected ten points. The same amount of points as James Neal. Neal started off hot and has cooled off as of recent. The Preds offense needs more production out of these three players or it could be a struggle going forward. If they are unable to score, give someone with the Admirals a chance to shine.
The Preds will look to get back on track after a disappointing performance against St. Louis. Fox Sports-Tennessee will carry the game or you can listen live on 102.5 The Game. Puck drops at 7:00 pm.
