The Nashville Predators return back home from a West Coast road trip, as they take on a struggling Edmonton Oilers team tonight.
The Nashville Predators would’ve liked for more wins to come out of the three-game road trip. The Predators played well, but not well enough against a red-hot Vegas Golden Knights team. They then turned around and lost to the worst team in all of hockey, as they got beat in overtime by the Arizona Coyotes. The Predators then headed out to Los Angeles and beat a really good Kings team with Quick in net.
The Predators are now in third place in the Central Division with a 24-11-6 record and a total of 54 points. The Predators 54 points is good for 4th in the Western Conference. The Central Division is stacked right now with good teams, as every single team has 20 or more wins. It’ll be very interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out with this division doing so good as of now.
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are struggling badly right now. For a team that finished with 103 points and made it to the 2nd round of the NHL Playoffs last season, it is very interesting to see a team struggle like this to this point. The Oilers are sitting at an 18-22-3 record and only have 39 points.
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The Oilers have been weak in their last seven games, as they are 1-6, with their only win coming against the Anaheim Ducks in a shootout. They are getting scored on a lot, as four or more goals have been scored on them in six out of the last seven games.
You can never count out the Oilers though, as they have Connor McDavid. You always have to have an eye on him whenever he is on the ice, as he is capable to do things that many others can’t do. McDavid has a team-high 47 points, with 14 goals and 33 assists. McDavid is tied for 9th in the league in total points.
The Nashville Predators also have to watch out for Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Draisaitl has 33 points on the year, with 22 assists, while Nugent-Hopkins leads the team in goals with 15.
Lineup Changes
The Nashville Predators decided to keep Pontus Aberg on the first line with Johansen and Arvidsson tonight. The 2nd line has stayed the same as it has for the last few weeks. The third line hasn’t changed yet, although they’ve had very inconsistent play over the last few games. The fourth line consists of Calle Jarnkrok, Austin Watson, but also has either Cody McLeod or Miikka Salomaki listed in the lineup.
The defensive pairings are the same as they have been in the last few games.
The Predators have not said who will be in goal tonight.
Here's the #Preds projected lineup for tonight's game vs. the #Oilers. #EDMvsNSH https://t.co/iT4WNQcOBR
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) January 9, 2018
In other news, the Nashville Predators announced that they have signed Yannick Weber, Matt Irwin, and Anthony Bitetto to new contracts for the next few seasons.
What to Expect
It’ll be interesting to see what Predators team shows up tonight against the Oilers. Will it be the team that lost to the league’s worst team, the Coyotes, or will it be the team that beat the Kings, one of the best teams in the Western Conference? We all hope it is the team that showed up when the Predators played the Kings. I would expect the Predators to try and get out to an early lead against a struggling Oilers team. If the Predators can play good defense and have a good performance from whoever is in net tonight, I would expect the Predators to come out on top tonight.
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Follow the Game
The game tonight will be on NBCSN as the puck will drop around 8:00 PM. 102.5 The Game will also air the game tonight.