Cody Glass, Tommy Novak, Phil Tomasino and the Predators young players take on Lucas Raymond, Mo Seider, and a rebuilding Red Wings team.
After a twelve day, six game road trip the Nashville Predators finally return to home ice tonight at Bridgestone Arena to face off against the Detroit Red Wings.
The Predators went 4-1-1 in their six game west coast swing and come home with nine out of twelve possible points. These games were the first few opportunities to see what a different looking Nashville roster could be capable of as the team pivoted to a "reset" that would not include Mattias Ekholm, Mikael Granlund, and Tanner Jeannot. While the Predators still sit outside the playoff race now, the effort by the young players and remaining veterans has been noteworthy.
Tommy Novak has three goals and four points in his last two games while Luke Evangelista scored four point in his first five NHL games including two goals. Evangelista missed Sunday night's game against the Anaheim Ducks due to a day to day upper body injury, so the Predators may be without the 21 year old again tonight.
Cody Glass and Phil Tomasino have also stepped up for the team. Glass has the team's best expected goals for in the last two games while Tomasino recorded two goals and an assist in his last four outings.
Moritz SeiderNashville's young players will face some of the league's best young players in Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider tonight. Raymond, 20, has 36 points in his second NHL season and three points in his last three games. Seider, the Red Wings' 2019 first round pick, is a young defenseman who has four points in his last five games including a saucy shorthanded goal in Sunday night's win over the Boston Bruins. Both players keep things interesting on the ice for a Detroit team that may be near the bottom of the Atlantic Division but has the talent to beat some very good teams when they put together a complete sixty minute game.
Keys to the Game
1. Goaltending - The last time these two teams met, Detroit's Ville Husso earned a shutout over the Predators. With Detroit's defense playing well in front of the net, the Predators will have to finish on the quality chances they generate. Juuse Saros is likely to get the start in net for Nashville. The Predators defense has been shaky especially since trading Mattias Ekholm and Alexandre Carrier out with injury, so a solid performance in net for Nashville will be key.
2. Neutral Zone Play - The Predators gave up some turnovers in the neutral zone that ended up hurting them in the game against Anaheim. Nashville needs to transition through the neutral zone cleanly and try to generate rush chances when they can against players like Mo Seider who can stall opponents in the neutral zone and turn the tables quickly.
3. Veterans Step Up - The youth movement may be an important storyline for both of these teams, but Nashville is going to need good games from veterans Matt Duchene and Roman Josi. Josi may not have as much freedom to generate offensive chances without partner Ryan McDonagh as the D pairs have shifted to cover the losses of Ekholm and Carrier, but the Preds need scoring threats from these two veterans as well as the youth.
Roman JosiHow to Watch
The Predators take on the Red Wings at 7:00 pm CST at Bridgestone Arena. Bally Sports South will broadcast the same and 102.5 The Game will have the radio call.
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