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Nashville Predators Come Out of Break Against Toronto Maple Leafs

By Matt Klett

NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 19: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs battles for the puck against Filip Forsberg #9 of the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on March 19, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 19: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs battles for the puck against Filip Forsberg #9 of the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on March 19, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Are the Nashville Predators buyers or sellers at the trade deadline? That’s what we hope to find out this week as the regular season resumes.

Their first opponent after the All-Star break, the Toronto Maple Leafs, comes to town for a showdown at Bridgestone Arena tonight. It’s only the fourth home game for the Predators this entire month as they’re going on a road back-to-back later this week.

The Nashville Predators are in the hunt for a playoff spot with ten weeks to go, and they’re six points out of a playoff spot with four games in hand on opponents in front of them.

This week of hockey is crucial to the playoff hunt as Nashville faces Toronto, Washington, New Jersey and Vegas. Getting off to a positive and winning start is paramount to reversing the negative trend that the Predators had for most of the first half.

Tonight’s Matchup

As for today, the Maple Leafs head to town as the first game back after the All-Star game. Goalie Frederik Andersen and speedy forward Mitch Marner represented the Leafs.

Statistically, Toronto has the 2nd-highest scoring road offense and 4th-best road power play. The Predators are ranked 19th in home offense and the 28th-ranked power play at home.

As for defense, Toronto has the 20th-ranked road defense and 28th-ranked penalty kill. The Nashville Predators rank 27th in goals allowed at home and fall in the middle of the pack when it comes to killing off penalties at home.

The Maple Leafs lost their last two games before the break, including a lopsided 6-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks at home. They’re actually in a pretty bad tailspin right now losing five of their last six, and giving up over give goals per game in those losses.

Much like where the Predators currently are in the West standings, the Maple Leafs sit on the outside looking in for a playoff spot. We should see two teams desperate to turn things around and get off to a hot start tonight.

Pekka Rinne is expected to be in the starter’s crease for the Predators tonight, per Adam Vingan of The Athletic:

Rinne had the 3-0 shutout over the Maple Leafs the last time these teams met last March. Filip Forsberg had an empty net goal in that game from Bridgestone Arena.

 Breaking Down the Numbers

Statistically, this looks like a bad matchup, but let’s break it down more. This season Nashville is 11-9-4 at home,  while Toronto is 13-11 on the road. We’re not accustomed to seeing the Predators look so average at home.

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Head-to-head Nashville has won two of the last three. The Leafs are 1-4 in their last five games against the Western conference. While the Nashville Predators are 5-11 in their last 16 home games.

As for recent games, Toronto has only won once in their last six games, and like the Predators are performing below expectations and are trying to get into playoff position. On the other side of things Nashville is 3-2 in their last five and looked solid in their last game against Buffalo.

This is an important matchup for both teams and should be a great showdown. It also features two teams who don’t play each other often, so expect a feeling out period early on.

The expected line combinations for this one are interesting for the Predators. The biggest surprise is seeing Austin Watson on the top line, and Viktor Arvidsson on the third line. We’ve already seen this experiment before.

I would love to be wrong here, but the Leafs are trying to do exactly what the Predators need to do and turn their season around. The only difference is the amount of firepower Toronto has.

5. 116. 3. 151. Prediction

Other Games Today

Some great games around the NHL take place today. The Nashville Predators host Toronto and can be watched on Fox Sports Tennessee or the Fox Sports Go app at 7 PM CDT, with pregame coverage beginning at 6:30.

There are some other games with big implications on the division race with the Dallas Stars taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning on NBCSN. The Blues and Canucks are also in action tonight.

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