The Nashville Predators showed on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena that they can hang with the elite of the NHL. Taking on the Boston Bruins was a challenge, one that the Preds were up for. In a 3-2 shootout win, the Preds were successful with a power play goal by Mike Fisher, Mike Ribeiro’s 9th goal of the year, and Derek Roy’s decisive game-winning goal in the shootout. Pekka Rinne was outstanding in the shootout stopping all Bruins when it came their turn at Rinne.
Tonight, the Nashville Predators take on the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
The Minnesota Wild (16-12-2) and the Nashville Predators (20-8-2) have a common foe as of recent days, the Boston Bruins. When the Wild faced the Bruins, they lost 3-2 in OT. Boston won by a goal at 1:30 of the 3rd period by Loui Eriksson (6). The Wild are looking to bounce back after their loss to Boston.
When you look at the statistical rundown of the Minnesota Wild, they are being led in points by Zach Parise with 11 goals and 12 assists (23). Nino Niederreiter leads the team in goals with 14. Former Predators defenseman, Ryan Suter, leads the team in assists with 18.
Keys to Watch
Summer of 2012-A look back…
The Nashville Predators were at a standoff when the summer of 2012 hit. Ryan Suter was one of the hot item free agents in the NHL and no one knew where he would sign. Many Preds fans were hopeful that, being as how he had been with the organization from his draft of 2003, he would stay with the Preds. Then, July 4, 2012 hit and Suter signed with the Wild. Needless to say, he has not been the most liked person when he enters Bridgestone Arena. There is no doubting his talent. The Preds have struggled since Suter left, until this year. There was a hole, defensively, that was left wide open when he hit the trail for St. Paul.
Division Rivalry
Minnesota vs Nashville. These two teams, usually, have intense battles. Game 1 of this season’s match-up will be a physical, high-intensity duel between two teams pushing toward the playoffs. The 5 games between these two teams, three of which will be in Nashville, can have significant implications of the seeding of the playoffs come April.
Viktor Stalberg to waivers
As of 11:45 am on Thursday, the Nashville Predators placed forward Viktor Stalberg on waivers with the intention of assigning him to the Milwaukee Admirals. Injuries play a large part of this move. When he was signed, the hope was that he could be a significant goal-scorer that the Preds were in need of for a push in the playoffs. With Stalberg having been out much of his career in Predator gold with injuries, specifically dealing with his knee, this move will be key in his recovery.
**Stalberg cleared waivers, sent to meet up with the team, and will be in the lineup tonight vs the Wild in Minnesota. Stalberg will be taking the place of injured Paul Gaustad who was placed on IR. Let’s see if Stalberg takes advantage of this opportunity!
Tonight’s matchup vs Minnesota has a lot of story lines and will be a great matchup for this season. Keep a checkup on all of our Keys to Watch for tonight! You can catch the game at 7:00 pm on FS-TN or you can listen live on 102.5 The Game.
