Nashville Predators: Things to Accomplish in Final Two Preseason Games
By Chad Minton
The quick six-game preseason slate is almost over for the Nashville Predators as they have two games left against the Carolina Hurricanes, starting tonight in Raleigh.
Through four preseason games the Predators have shown a lot of positive signs, including two dominating wins over the Tampa Bay Lightning by a combined score of 12-3.
The roster has now been cut down to just a few spots left to get into the opening night starting lineup against the Seattle Kraken on October 14. These last two games will have to settle those last couple of spots for Head Coach John Hynes.
Rem Pitlick led the list of players the Nashville Predators sent to waivers on Monday, and now they must go unclaimed if they’re going to return to the prospect pool.
Constructing the line combinations,
These last two preseason games against the Hurricanes should give us a window into what Hynes is thinking in terms of his line combination for the season-opener. As of now, it’s still very unclear on who will even be on the top line.
The Nashville Predators really are a team in flux with more questions than answers, but I’m very interested to see these line combinations rolled out tonight as it will be an indicator to what we might see on October 14.
That will be especially true if these line combinations find more success like they did against the Lightning. Top veterans like Filip Forsberg, Matt Duchene, Ryan Johansen and Mikael Granlund all registered at least a point in their preseason action against Tampa Bay.
Obviously you want the win, but more importantly you want to continue to see this lineup take shape and more line chemistry being built.
Hynes had a very enticing top line combination in the Saturday night home game for the Predators, with Granlund centering Tannaer Jeannot and Luke Kunin. Yet another example of Jeannot ascending up the depth chart.
More discipline, less penalties, heavy focus on power play opportunities
This has really become a constant nagging for this Nashville Predators team, but they have to be more sound on special teams this season if they’re going to avoid flirting with last place with the likes of the Coyotes.
I’ve seen a lot of good things from the penalty kill so far this preseason, including killing 13 of 14 penalties in the two wins over Tampa Bay. As great of a sign as that is, you can’t be taking seven penalties per game in the regular season. so less trips to the penalty box and more control would be a nice thing to see.
The power play remains a work-in-progress for this young group mixed in with the remaining core veterans from the Stanley Cup run in 2017. The power play connected twice on five opportunities in Saturday’s win over Tampa Bay, with the two goals coming from Luke Kunin and Philip Tomasino.
We should see plenty more of Tomasino tonight, and hopefully on the power play. For a team that’s struggled in this area badly over the past couple of seasons, players like Tomasino can earn a roster spot if they show coaches they’re a valuable asset that can turn this weakness into a strength.
A split in action for Saros and Ingram
The expectation is that Connor Ingram will be the primary goaltender for the Milwaukee Admirals this season, but he has really done a great job this preseason making 36 saves on 38 shots faced.
This will be Ingram’s third preseason game he’s available for, with David Rittich probably being saved for the final preseason game on Saturday.
As for Saros, I’d expected him to get the start and play at least the first period to give him one more chance at shaking the offseason rust off before going into a regular season where he will once again be the workhorse between the pipes.
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The Admirals begin their season on October 16, so there’s plenty of time for Ingram to get ready for what will most likely be a full season for him in the AHL. The last time he was in net for Milwaukee he was the top goaltender in the AHL with astounding numbers.
Another strong outing for Ingram tonight will really make us wonder if he’s actually ready for the NHL now as a backup, but with the veteran Rittich in the picture, the AHL is still probably the best spot for Ingram for now.
You can tune into the game on 102.5 The Game in Nashville, or also stream on the team’s official website NashvillePredators.com. Tuesday’s game is scheduled for a 6 PM CDT puck drop, with Saturday’s action coming in the afternoon at 3 PM CDT.