The Nashville Predators lost a close game last night to Toronto and look to bounce back tonight against Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and the Montreal Canadiens.
The Nashville Predators have earned six of eight possible points in their first four games of a five game road trip, and tonight they close out their travel against the Montreal Canadiens.
Just nine days ago these two teams met at Bridgestone Arena, and the Predators won by a decisive score of 6-3. Nashville had six different goal scorers, the defense limited the Habs to just 27 shots on goal, and Nashville netted two power play goals. Tonight the Predators will need all those things to go well again as they look to bounce back from last night's 2-1 loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Since playing in Nashville on January 3, the Canadiens have won a game against the St. Louis Blues and lost games against the New York Rangers and the Seattle Kraken. The win on January 7 against the Blues was the team's first win after going 0-6-1 in their previous seven games. Montreal is 2-7-1 in their last ten outings.
That isn't to say the Habs are a team to overlook especially when it comes to offense. Cole Caufield has four goals in his last five games and Nick Suzuki leads the team in points. The top line of Caufield, Suzuki, and Dach are a threatening trio, and 29 year old winger Joel Armia scored two goals in the win over St. Louis. Brendan Gallagher, who scored in last week's game against the Preds, will miss tonight's game due to injury.
Who will start in net for both teams is something to keep an eye on as puck drop gets closer. Yesterday Nashville recalled young Yaroslav Askarov from Milwaukee as a "precautionary recall" after backup Kevin Lankinen missed morning skate. Saros started last night's game in Toronto for the Preds, so expect to see Lankinen in net as long as he is healthy. If for some reason Lankinen is unable to play, head coach John Hynes will need to make a call on whether to start Saros in back to backs with a big game coming up Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres or give Askarov his first NHL start.
Sam Montembeault started against the Predators last week and against Seattle on Monday, so the Predators may face Jake Allen tonight in net. Both goaltenders have struggled in games this season, so this game could be an opportunity for Nashville to get back to generating offense after putting up just one goal against Toronto last night.
It will be an emotional night at the Bell Centre as former Canadien and Predator P.K. Subban is honored. Subban recently retired from the NHL and both teams will pay tribute to Subban for his work on and off the ice.
The Preds take on the Canadiens tonight at 6:00 pm CST. The game will be broadcast on Bally Sports South and 102.5 The Game will have the radio call.
Related Reading:
Predators -1, Maple Leafs - 2: Nashville's Win Streak Ends Despite Play of Saros, Forsberg
Predators - 6, Canadiens - 3: Six Preds Score in Confidence Boosting Win Over Montreal
David Poile Addresses Loss of Eeli Tolvanen as Young Forward Succeeds in Seattle