If the Predators hope to stay in the playoff hunt, they must earn two points tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Nashville Predators have been trending upward in the standings after earning eleven of a possible fourteen points in their last seven games. If the Predators hope to earn a wildcard spot, they will have to unseat the Winnipeg Jets, a team that has struggled recently. The Jets are 3-5-2 in their last ten games and the Predators have three games in hand over this Central Division rival.
What makes tonight's game against Chicago so important for the Predators may have less to do with the Blackhawks and more to do with the teams Nashville will face going forward. The Preds play Winnipeg on Saturday afternoon and then proceed with one of the most difficult schedules down the stretch of any team in the league. It is going to be tough going for the Predators from here on out, so earning two points against the 23-38-6 Blackhawks tonight is critical if Nashville hopes to extend their postseason hope.
Chicago is coming off an impressive win over the Boston Bruins in which the Hawks were able to capitalize on the few mistakes the Bruins made in that game. Taylor Raddysh continued his hot streak by scoring his first career hat trick on Tuesday night on his way to recording six goals in his last five games. The Blackhawks lost goaltender Petr Mrazek on Tuesday after he left the game with an injury, and yesterday the team recalled Anton Khudobin from the Rockford IceHogs. Despite allowing three goals after replacing Mrazek on Tuesday, backup Alex Stalock has been solid for the Blackhawks in net in his 18 games played, so he may get the nod in net for Chicago tonight.
Keys to the Game
1. Get the power play going. Nashville went 0/5 on the power play against Detroit Tuesday night, and they will need to do better with any man advantage they get tonight. The Predators did a fair job passing the puck and moving when they got their power play set up, but no one seemed to want to shoot. Tonight players like Luke Evangelista, Matt Duchene, and Roman Josi need to be ready to pull the trigger.
2. Speaking of Roman Josi and Matt Duchene... The two veteran leaders have combined for only three assists in their last five games, and tonight Nashville will need more from their top two points leaders. While it's been exciting to see the younger players step up offensively, Nashville will need both Josi and Duchene to contribute on the scoresheet if the team hopes to walk away with a win.
3. Clean up the mistakes. A tired Predators team played a sloppy game against Detroit Tuesday night. While they were able to come away with a win, the Preds had 18 turnovers, struggled to cleanly exit the defensive zone, and committed unnecessary penalties. Chicago was able to beat the top ranked Boston Bruins earlier this week by capitalizing on a few key mistakes, so Nashville will need to execute better with the puck.
How to Watch
The Predators welcome the Blackhawks to Bridgestone Arena for a 7:00 pm CST puck drop. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and HULU while 102.5 The Game will have the radio call.