John Hynes returns to Nashville as the Wild face off against the Predators.
John Hynes returns to Nashville as the Wild face off against the Predators.
The Wild had a great first practice under new head coach John Hynes yesterday at home before they flew to Nashville where they will face off against the red hot Predators tonight.
Under former Wild player Andrew Brunette, now Nashville's head coach, the Predators have won six in a row and are 11-10-0 on the season which is fifth in the central division.
This stretch of three games is crucial for the Wild. They just defeated the St. Louis Blues on home ice on Tuesday, play the Predators tonight, and host the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
It is important for this team to try and make up ground in the standings and what better way to do it than against central division teams.
Tonight it's the Predators who are 7-5-0 in the month of November but are 6-0-0 since November 15th. They have been led by great goaltending and a fantastic first line during that stretch.
In the month of November, Filip Forsberg has 11 goals and 19 points, Ryan O'Reilly has six goals and 12 points, and Gustav Nyquist has two goals and 12 points all in 12 games.
Since November 16th only Tampa's Brayden Point has more goals than Forsberg with seven and he's played one more game than the Nashville winger.
There is no denying that shutting down the first line will be a big key to the game for the Wild. Another key will be trying to get pucks past Juuse Saros who is 4-0-0 in his last four games with a .925 save percentage and a 2.27 goals-against average. He's been one of the best goaltenders in the NHL in the last five games with the Wild's Filip Gustavsson right behind him.
Gustavsson is projected to start again for the Wild which will be the first time this season a Wild goaltender has started four straight games. Gustavsson is 1-2-1 in his last four starts with a .922 save percentage and a 1.98 goals-against average. The rest of the Wild's lineup will be the same with Ryan Hartman still suspended.
Wild Projected Lineup
Kaprizov - Rossi - Zuccarello
Johansson - Eriksson Ek - Boldy
Foligno - Gaudreau - Maroon
Duhaime - Dewar - Lettieri
Defense Pairs:
Brodin - Faber
Middleton - Spurgeon
Goligoski - Bogosain
Starting Goaltender: Gustavsson
Predators Projected Lineup
Filip Forsberg - Ryan O'Reilly - Gustav Nyquist
Kiefer Sherwood - Juuso Parssinen - Luke Evangelista
Cole Smith - Michael McCarron - Philip Tomasino
Yakov Trenin - Colton Sissons
Defense Pairs:
Ryan McDonagh - Roman Josi
Jeremy Lauzon - Alexandre Carrier
Tyson Barrie - Luke Schenn
Dante Fabbro
Starting Goaltender: Juuse Saros