The Predators traveled to New York without Roman Josi after their home overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets to take on Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin and the New York Rangers tonight.
Despite a host of injuries and roster changes, the Nashville Predators will continue to chase a playoff opportunity tonight as they take on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The Predators lost 2-1 in overtime Saturday afternoon against the Winnipeg Jets at Bridgestone Arena while the Rangers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins last night by a score of 6-0.
Nashville's Challenges
The Predators lost more than just one point with the overtime loss. Captain Roman Josi did not play in the second and third periods and didn't travel with the team for tonight's game. Josi's absence is just another challenge this Predators team will have to embrace and try to overcome. Veterans Nino Niederreiter, Mikael Granlund, and Mattias Ekholm were each traded, while Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen, and Ryan McDonagh are all out with injuries. The injuries have also sidelined defenseman Alexandre Carrier and young forward Juuso Pärssinen.
Stepping up to fill those roster holes have been a handful of young players. Egor Afanasyev, Phil Tomasino, Luke Evangelista, and Kiefer Sherwood recently joined the youth movement kicked off by Cody Glass and Tommy Novak. While Afanasyev has yet to earn his first NHL point in his four games with the Predators, the other five (Glass, Novak, Sherwood, Evangelista, and Tomasino) have combined for an encouraging nine goals and ten assists in the last five games.
Noticably quiet on the scoresheet recently has been veteran Matt Duchene. Duchene hasn't earned a point in regulation in his last five games and hasn't scored a regulation goal since March 2 in the win over the Florida Panthers. Duchene lost both of his most consistent line mates from last season - Forsberg to injury and Granlund to a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Despite plenty of minutes building chemistry with Cody Glass, Duchene has struggled offensively. Tonight's game would be a perfect opportunity for the veteran to add to his 19 goals on the season.
Juuse Saros got the start in net against the Jets Saturday afternoon, so back up Kevin Lankinen will likely get the start for Nashville tonight. Lankinen has been an important addition for the Predators this season and was just recently signed for another year. In his fourteen starts, the 27 year old Finnish back up has gone 8-5-0-1 and earned a .925 save percentage.
The Rangers Are Buzzing
The Rangers will likely give Lankinen plenty of work if their 6-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins is any indication. Chris Drury obtained Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane and now boasts offensive threats up and down their forward lines. Mika Zibanejad leads the Rangers in goal with 35 with Chris Kreider right behind with 30 goals. Artemi Panarin leads with 75 points. Panarin scored two goals while Krieder, Tarasenko, Jacob Trouba, and Zibanejad each chipped in one in last night's win against the Penguins.
Defensively, the Rangers have little weakness either. Adam Fox is New York's Roman Josi playing some of the best defense in the league while being an important cog in the offensive wheel. This season Fox has recorded 51 assists and 10 goals so far. Trouba, K'Andre Miller, and Niko Mikkola round out the formidable top two defensive pairings.
Goaltender Igor Shesterkin has not replicated his Vezina winning stats from last season, but he's earned a .910 save percentage and a 31-11-0-7 record in his 49 starts. Tomorrow the Predators will likely face 37 year old backup Jaroslav Halak. Halak has gone 8-8-0-3 in his starts this season.
Keep an Eye On Special Teams
Special teams tip the game in favor of the Rangers despite the Predators improving on both the power play and penalty kill recently. The Rangers rank ninth overall on the power play, and Mika Zibanejad's 19 power play goals are a big reason why. Nashville's penalty kill has been playing with a lot of confidence, but New York's man advantage may be the biggest test they've faced recently.
How to Watch
Puck drop tonight at Madison Square Garden is scheduled for 6:00 pm CST. Bally Sports South will broadcast the game and 102.5 The Game will have the radio call.
Related Reading:
Predators - 2, Jets - 3 (OT): Preds Earn One Point in OT Loss, Lose Josi to Injury
Predators - 1, Blackhawks 2: Josi Scores But Preds Fall to Chicago
Kiefer Sherwood's Mindset: "Just Trying to Earn One More Day"
Hynes on Novak: "He Deserves the Opportunities He's Getting"