The Nashville Predators take one of the league's hottest teams in the New Jersey Devils tonight. Jack Hughes and company could exploit Nashville's weaknesses if the Preds don't bring their best game.
December kicks off for the Nashville Predators with a big game right out of the gate against the New Jersey Devils tonight at the Prudential Center. The Devils are the surprise darling at this point in the season and are battling with the Boston Bruins for the most points in the league.
There isn't much not to like about how the Devils are playing. Offensively they are generating nearly obscene amounts of shots thanks to players like Jack Hughes, Nico Hirschier, Miles Wood, and Dougie Hamilton. The team plays a fast game and capitalizes on rush chances but can also win the forechecking game and pin opponents in the defensive zone while the Devils create quality chances.
Jack Hughes has 7 points in his last 5 games and has been a lightning rod for the Devils' offense so far this season. The 21 year old scored his first career hat trick against the Washington Capitals on November 26, and his 14 assists help tell the story of a young player who plays a critical role in a successful offense. Hughes does have plenty of offensive support in this Devils' lineup. Depth scoring has helped the Devils outshoot their opponents 838-605 so far this season.
The Devils are also vying for the unofficial award for best offseason move when it comes to snagging goaltender Vitek Vanecek. New Jersey took Vanecek off the Washington Capitals' hands for two 2022 trade picks, and the 27 year old goaltender has been a league standout in net for his new team. The Czech net minder has a .923 save percentage and is average 2.12 goals against average.
Vanecek is helped out by solid defense in front of him as well. Dougie Hamilton was plagued by injury last season but has returned this fall in great shape. Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler along with Ryan Graves and John Marino have provided the defensive support to make Vanecek's job a little easier in net. Marino may be out in tonight's game after an upper body injury has him listed as day-to-day, but the depth at the defensive position may not make the night much easier for the Predators.
Nashville enters tonight's contest playing improved hockey over their rocky start to the season, but it will take a near perfect game and a little puck luck for the Preds to outmatch the Devils. Nashville has been generating better quality chances in their last outings, and they have cleaned up the sloppy penalties that plagued them early in the season.
Juuse Saros has picked up his game and been impressive in net for the Predators in November. John Hynes announced earlier today that Saros will get the start in net against the Devils, and he will have his hands full if Nashville can't limit turnovers and rush chances.
The Predators will need excellent games from not only top players like Filip Forsberg, Nino Niederreiter, and Matt Duchene, but also from depth players who haven't shown up on the scoresheet nearly enough this season. The Preds' third and fourth lines will need to match the production the Devils are seeing from their bottom six if Nashville hopes to keep this game close and possibly walk away with two points.
The Predators take on the Devils tonight at 6:00 pm CST. The game will be broadcast on Bally Sports South, streamed on ESPN+, and 102.5 The Game will have the radio call locally.