It's another tough Central Division test for the Nashville Predators as they face off against the Dallas Star at home tonight.
The Christmas holiday has come and gone, but the Nashville Predators' tough December schedule continues. Tonight the Predators take on one of their toughest opponents of the month, the Dallas Stars.
The Stars currently sit at the top of the Central Division, and their 20-9-6 record attests to Dallas' ability to find a variety of ways to win games. The Stars have come from behind, won with special teams, and relied on strong goaltending in different games on the road and at home. Dallas has already beaten the Predators in Texas and Tennessee in October, and Nashville will have their hands full trying to get a win tonight at Bridgestone Arena.
The Predators have struggled to find ways to win this month. Nashville is 4-4-3 in December and are trying to bounce back after a mid month six game losing skid. The Preds have won two of their last three but lost last Friday to the Colorado Avalanche in overtime.
Some things are going better for the Preds of late. Last week the struggling special teams started to turn things around. After going 0/21, Nashville's anemic power play went 3/7 in the games against Edmonton, Chicago, and Colorado. The penalty kill also allowed only two goals on eleven chances.
The Predators' offense has gotten back on track as the team focused on a faster pace. Matt Duchene has four goals in the last four games, and the scoring has come from the top players like Nino Niederreiter, Ryan Johansen, and Roman Josi and secondary scorers like Mattias Ekholm, Alexandre Carrier, and Tommy Novak.
Goaltending has played an important part in getting Nashville out of their mid December losing streak. Juuse Saros had three strong performances between the pipes last week. Saros averaged a .931 save percentage in the games against Edmonton, Chicago, and Colorado.
Special teams, offense, and goaltending are going to be very important for Nashville in tonight's game. Dallas ranks 5th in the league on the power play and to emphasize that point, the Stars scored three power play goals in their last game against Montreal. Dallas' penalty kill ranks fourth right now in the league. Offensively, the Stars have scored the fourth most goals in the league. Jason Robertson has scored 24 goals and 50 points in 35 games. Roope Hintz has 16 goals and 48 points, Jamie Benn has 13 goals, and Joe Pavelski has collected 11 goals. Nineteen year old rookie Wyatt Johnston has a goal in his last three games and ten on the season as well.
Nashville will need to play a very good game tonight against the Stars if they hope to earn two important Central Division points. The Preds will need to stay out of the penalty box and focus on generating offense at five on five. To match Dallas' pace the Preds will need to play with speed and transition quickly through the neutral zone. Nashville had success against the Oilers and Chicago playing with pace. Finally, the Predators will need solid goaltending once again. Dallas is fifth in the league in goals for, so Juuse Saros will need to carry a lot of the workload again for the team.
Tonight will be another tough match up for Nashville. The Preds need to make headway in the Central Division, and a win over the Dallas Stars would be a boost for a Nashville team that has struggled through a difficult December schedule.
The Predators host the Stars at Bridgestone Arena tonight. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm CST. The game will be broadcast on Bally Sports South, and 102.5 The Game will have the radio call.
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