The Montreal Canadiens will welcome the Nashville Predators tonight at the Bell Centre.
There aren't many teams that are below the Montreal Canadiens in the standings these days, but the Nashville Predators are. GM Barry Trotz's massive shopping spree in free agency has backfired badly so far. After signing Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, the Tennessee outfit was expected to come flying out of the gates, but instead it crashed badly.
After playing 25 games, the Preds had a 7-12-6 record for 20 points making them the 31st team in the league, just two points clear of the Chicago Blackhawks in the standings. Nashville only trails the Canadiens by one point, even though the Canadiens have won two more games, this is where the loser point makes a difference.
While Montreal wasn't in action last night, the Predators were taking on the Toronto Maple Leafs and had to travel afterwards, it may give the Canadiens a small edge energy wise. It was another defeat for the Preds who dropped the decision 3-1.
Trotz recently pulled a trade off, sending veteran backup goaltender Scott Wedgewood to the Colorado Avalanche in return for Justus Annunen. Wedgewood had less than desirable numbers in Nashville, starting four games with a 1-2-1 record, a 3.69 goals-against average and a .878 save percentage. Meanwhile Juuse Saros has taken on the lion's share of the work, starting 21 games. He has a 6-10-5 record, with a 2.62 GAA and a .911 SP. Considering how the team has been doing, those are more than acceptable numbers.
The problem seems to lay up front, Stamkos has just 13 points in 25 games while Marchessault has 12 in as many games. Highest paid forward Filip Forsberg is in the third year of an eight-year pact with a $8.5 M cap hit and has only got 17 points. Defenseman and captain Roman Josi leads the charge with 22 points in 25 games, but things are not looking up in Nashville.
Trotz did come out a while ago essentially saying things would have to improve or he'd go back to the drawing board, but that's easier said than done. Forsberg, Stamkos and Josi have got full no movement clauses while Marchesseault and Brady Skjei have go modified no movement clauses (15-team list) and Saros' own full no movement clause will kick in at the end of the season.
Nashville has lost its last five games, but they got a point out of three of those by getting out of regulation alive. Meanwhile, the Canadiens won their last game, after receiving a huge moral boost by welcoming Patrik Laine back into the lineup. In an electric Bell Centre, Martin St-Louis saw his men sign a 2-1 overtime win.
Expect newly appointed Canada goaltender Samuel Montembeault to be in net for the Canadiens while backup Justus Annunen should start for the Preds, since Saros played last night. The latter has got a 5-1-1 record against Montreal with a 2.89 GAA and a .904 SP. Meanwhile, the newly acquired backup has lost his only game against the Habs but he still has a 2.02 GAA and a .926 SP against them.
Montembeault has taken on the Preds four times and has a 3-1-0 record with a 3.43 GAA and a .899 SP. As for Primeau, he has never played them. Up front, Cole Caufield who is on a five-game point streak has seven points in six outings against Nashville while captain Nick Suzuki has five in seven games. Just like Lane Hutson, Suzuki will look to extend his four-game point streak. Only one Hab has hit the double digits in points against Nashville: Patrik Laine who has 10 points, but he did he it 24 games.
As for the Preds, their key players normally have great numbers against the Canadiens. Stamkos has 50 points in 51 games, Forsberg 15 points in 16 matches, Josi 14 in 18, Ryan O'Reilly 27 in 30 and Marchessault 17 in 20.
The Predators have won seven of the last 10 games between the two sides, but the Canadiens won the latest tilt 4-3 in overtime in Nashville last March. The game is set for 7:00 PM and is the first of two between the Habs and Preds this season. The other one will take place in Nashville in April.
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