Nashville Predators Face Central Division Rival Winnipeg Jets: Three Keys to the Game

Nashville needs to finish strong with a win as they wrap up their five game western road trip against the 6-4-2 Winnipeg Jets.

The Nashville Predators kicked off their early season western road trip on October 31 with a loss to the Vancouver Canucks, and ten days later the team is hoping they can finish with a win over the Winnipeg Jets tonight before returning home. It has been a long haul for the Predators who are 1-3 going into tonight's game, but the difference between coming home 2-3 instead of 1-4 could be more than just sixty minutes of quality hockey. Nashville needs a strong performance and the win tonight to make this road trip feel like the team is still on a slow but steady upward trajectory. 

After a lackluster performance that left head coach Andrew Brunette "really disappointed" in his group, the Nashville Predators will need to play a much better game tonight against a Jets' team that is finding their footing after an up and down October. Here are three keys to tonight's game. 

Brunette's fast moving, puck possessing, shot producing style of offense was nowhere to be seen on Tuesday night against the Flames, so tonight the Predators have to get back to playing their game. In Tuesday's game Nashville's pace was slow, their execution sloppy, and the offensive chances too sparse. The Predators need to throw Tuesday's loss in the trash and look ahead tonight to getting back up to speed against the Jets. 

Nashville will have to focus on containing Winnipeg's potent top line of Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Alex Iafallo. The trio has combined for 17 goals and 34 points so far this season including a combined ten points in their recent win over the St. Louis Blues. The Predators will need to limit that top line's chances tonight and get another solid performance from Juuse Saros in net. 

That isn't to say that the Jets don't have other offensive weapons who are finally finding their groove. Former Predator Nino Niederreiter has four goals in his last five games, so the Preds will need a solid 200 foot game from up and down the lineup. 

It's been a tough start to the season for Winnipeg's goaltenders. Connor Hellebuyck, a perennial Vezina contender, has been up and down in his ten starts but still boasts a 6-3-0-1 record. Tonight the Predators will face back up Laurent Brossoit who will be starting his third game of the season. Brossoit was in net when the Jets lost in a shootout to the Montreal Canadiens and in a loss against his former team, the Vegas Golden Knights. The 30-year-old has a 3.38 goal against average and .873 save percentage after those outings. 

Nashville will need to get plenty of shots on net throughout this game, create space with east/west passing, and own the net front space. Expect to see Ryan O'Reilly and Nino Niederreiter battling there for any loose pucks. Brossoit can likely manage the 18 shots on goal Nashville put up against Calgary, so the Predators will need to get back to thirty-plus shots on net to keep the Jets' back up busy tonight. 

The Predators take on the Jets at the Canada Life Centre tonight. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm CT. 

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