Adjustments
In Game One, Kevin Fiala suffered a devastating injury by sustaining a fracture of his left femur. The video below highlights what happened (caution, portions of the video may be difficult to watch):
The Nashville Predators will have to adjust lineups and bring in an additional forward to recuperate the loss of this outstanding forward that has played well this postseason. Colin Wilson, after a lengthy absence, sidelined by injury, was inserted and played well in Game One. The Blues will also be making adjustments to their lineups tonight as Magnus Paajarvi will be benched for Ivan Barbashev who has been out for two games. Look for a much different approach from both teams as each team looks for victory tonight.
Special Teams
In our lead-up to Game One, the discussion was centered on the Predators using the chances that they have, and making sure to take advantage of those opportunities. Nashville scored two power-play goals on their way to a 4-3 victory in Game One. For the Predators, they need to play much of a similar style to get St. Louis to make those mistakes. In a 2:47 time-span during the second period, the Blues committed three costly penalties to give Nashville a dominant second period. The speed of Nashville played a compelling story-line against the frustration exhibited by the Blues and their careless style during the second period.
A Full Sixty
The first forty minutes during Game One was a compelling argument for Nashville coming away with the victory after the first ever post-season contest against these two franchises. Going into the third period, the Predators had a 3-1 lead and looked to cruise to the victory. The Blues had other things on their mind. St. Louis scored two goals (Jaden Schwartz, 6:48 & Vladamir Sobotka, 9:22) to tie up the contest. If not for the heroics of Vernon Fiddler, Nashville could be down 0-1 in the series and would have lost their first game of the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Predators must play a full sixty minutes tonight. It seemed as though they were getting outplayed during the third period, held the rush, and got a great, veteran play from Fiddler. If the Predators get the lead tonight, they can’t play a conservative brand of hockey. Nashville must put the pedal down and come home to Nashville up 2-0 in the series.
Tonight, the Predators will look to take out the home crowd early at the Scottrade Center and go up 2-0. Be sure to catch all of the action on NBCSN or you can listen live on 102.5 The Game. Puck drops at 7:00 pm!
