The Nashville Predators play their final home game until the playoffs bring them back to Bridgestone.
The Nashville Predators broke their four-game losing streak on a Colin Wilson goal (I’m being serious), a Forsberg trick shot and additions from Mike Fisher and Craig Smith against an aggressive Colorado team on Tuesday night.
Thursday night brings the end of the regular season at Bridgestone Arena against the Arizona Coyotes. Nashville will probably just coast into the playoffs but don’t expect the Predators to ever be a push over and not take a game seriously. It’s important that they stay healthy.
Nashville versus Arizona should be an interesting match-up seeing as the teams have split the season series and share the top-two defensive power-play goal scorers in the League with Shea Weber and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Arizona Coyotes
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Being the only team in the desert, it is shocking that the Coyotes have not seen any sunshine all season. Injuries are just the beginning as they have lost
,
,
, and former Preds goalie Andres Lindback. The Coyotes have also gone 4-6-0 in their last 10. And, for some reason, they traded
but he got his parade and party at the All-Star Game in Smashville.
The only thing that allows for sunshine in Glendale is that the season is almost over, Captain Shane Doan is closing in on 400 career goals, and the Coyotes have a small chance at the NHL Lottery but any chance is, at least, something.
The best possibility for Arizona to win the game against the Preds is if Nashville comes out flat and they can somehow shut down the Predators defense from jumping up and joining the rush.
"“They have a lot of skill up front and a lot of defensemen who likes to join the rushes and stuff like that,” Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson told the Coyotes website."
The Coyotes will be looking for luck with Mike Smith in net who has a 5-3-0 record with two shutouts since returning March 12. Either way, this game should be interesting for both sides.
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators looked like the team they need to be while getting ready for the playoffs on Tuesday. Colin Wilson scored his 6th goal and looks playoff ready while Filip Forsberg made “SportsCenter Top Play of the Night” looking like a man among boys. The Preds will only get stronger as Tony Bitetto looks to make his much-anticipated return to the blue-line. Whether it is Carter Hutton or Pekka Rinne in net, it seems as Nashville is ready for anyone.
Filip Forsberg is two goals away from owning the single-season goal mark in just his second season. He also just scored his 60th and 61st point of the season giving him over 60 points in both of his first two seasons in the League. It seems that every night he just adds another chapter to his legacy at the young age of 21. James Neal is right behind Scorsberg chasing Arnott’s record of 33 goals in a season as well.
It seems as if the team is clicking pretty well as Weber and Ribeiro also just hit 50 points in the season. Even though it would be nice to sit and rest Rinne, maybe he should play against the Coyotes as he has six career shutouts against Arizona. Nashville just needs to play their cards right and stay healthy as we get ready for our California Working Vacation next week.
Prediction
This game, just like any game at this point in the season, can go either way. Are you going to get a physical and attacking Nashville team or a conservative resting style team? Are we going to the Coyotes that beat the Caps 3-0 or the team that lost to the Hawks 6-2? Anything can happen but on Fan Appreciation Night it’s hard to pick against the Nashville Predators. It’s hard to bet against Nashville period, but right now we are probably one of the best teams in the league when the roster is 100% healthy.
With one week left until playoff time, it’s time for everyone to do their part and show the rest of the League why it’s dangerous to doubt Nashville. I believe in Smashville. Smashville believes in the 7th Man. April, May, June here we come.
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The Nashville Predators play their final regular season game on the road against the Central Division rival Dallas Stars. The Predators are 1-2-1 against the high-powered offense of Dallas. It’s time to build momentum for the playoffs.