Nashville Predators: The Predators Go Duck Hunting
Adam Henrique and his new team head to Tennesse to face the Nashville Predators in a game between two Western Conference powerhouses.
The Nashville Predators have been hotter than the sun over the month of November. But a loss to the Canucks has ushered in a new month that starts off against a true Stanley Cup contender. The Ducks are hampered by injuries to their top two centers, something the Predators know well. This game could be a precursor to a late round Cup match-up and there’s a lot to get excited about. These two teams really hate each other, even though Ryan Kesler will sit out, known agitator Corey Perry will play. This game could get nasty, which is just the way that fans want it.
Before we get into the Nashville Predators, let’s take a look at the Ducks so far this season.
Quack Quack
The Ducks recently acquired Adam Henrique, who will lead the Ducks down the middle as Kesler and Ryan Getzlaf are both injured. The other notable centers on this team are Chris Wagner, who’s been thrust into a top-six role, and Antoine Vermette, who’s aging rapidly.
Wingers Rickard Rakell and Patrick Eaves are on the injured reserve and will not play tonight. Jacob Silfverberg is day to day with an upper-body injury and it is uncertain if he will suit up tonight.
The defense is still top tier, even after losing Sami Vatanen to the Devils. Hampus Lindholm and Josh Manson makeup one of the best shutdown pairs in the NHL and will likely face off against the JoFA line. Otherwise, Cam Fowler and Brandon Montour will look to provide some scoring from the backend. The third pair consists of Kevin Bieksa and Francois Beauchemin, a duo that’s too old and slow to compete without serious sheltering.
The Ducks are on the latter part of a back-to-back, so the Predators will likely see Ryan Miller tonight. He owns a .935 save percentage and 2.06 goals against average.
The Predators
The Nashville Predators line-up is a little muddled according to the Predators website. Per the website, the line-up will be:
Forsberg-Johansen-Arvidsson
Fiala-Turris-Smith
Sissons/Aberg-Bonino-Jarnkrok
McLeod/Salomaki-Gaudreau-Watson
Josi-Ekholm
Emelin-Subban
Bitetto-Irwin
No goaltender has been announced as of yet, but I imagine Pekka Rinne will get the start.
The biggest possible changes of the line-up are Aberg and McLeod coming in. I like Aberg but I don’t think he deserves a spot over any of these players, except for maybe Gaudreau. I wouldn’t be mad if Aberg replaced Sissons or Jarnkrok on the third line so that either center could replace Gaudreau on the fourth. Preferably Jarnkrok, so that trio could be a pure shutdown line.
Where to watch
The puck drops at 7PM on Fox Sports TN. Or you can listen at 102.5 The Game starting at 6:30 for pre-game coverage. This game should be a battle between two Western powerhouses.