The Nashville Predators' hopes for the postseason are fading, so earning two points against Matthew Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers in an early afternoon matchup is a must.
It hasn't been an easy week for the Nashville Predators. On Monday the Predators unexpectedly lost a winnable game against the 19-28-8 Arizona Coyotes, and Thursday the team was shut out in a 5-0 loss to the league best Boston Bruins. While Thursday's loss was not entirely shocking, the glaring difference between a clear Stanley Cup contender and the Nashville Predators was...stark. Now the Preds find themselves with only a sliver of hope left for a playoff push as they face Florida today.
Florida Panthers
The Panthers are coming off a President's Trophy winning season that ended with a second round playoff exit after a sweep by the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Panthers made one of the biggest offseason trades that included Jonathan Huberdeau and defenseman MacKenzie Weegar for Calgary's Matthew Tkachuk. While Tkachuk leads the Panthers in points and just won himself the All Star Game MVP Award, he hasn't been that one missing piece that Florida was hoping to find in him this season.
The loss of Weegar may have cost the Panthers blue line more than they bargained for as Florida sits towards the bottom of the league in goals against per game. One of the league's priciest goalie tandems of Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight have struggled to replicate last season's performances.
None of this to say that the Panthers aren't a formidable opponent. Offensively, Aleksander Barkov, Connor Verhaeghe, and Sam Reinhart lead a team that ranks sixth in goals for per game, Defensively, Brandon Montour, Gustav Forsling, and Aaron Ekblad each play solid two way games.
Nashville Predators
The Predators have been without top goal scorer Filip Forsberg after he left last Saturday's game against Philadelphia with an upper body injury that has him listed as day-to-day. The Preds recalled young forward Phil Tomasino from Milwaukee where he has been since training camp ended to jump in and play top six minutes in Nashville. Tomasino looked more comfortable in his second game against Boston, but Preds fans are still waiting to see the 21 year old hit his stride while he is in the lineup.
Generating offense has been the recent challenge for Nashville, so players like Matt Duchene, Roman Josi, and Nino Niederreiter will need to execute on their chances in today's game. Rush chances didn't materialize against Boston Thursday, but Nashville will look to play with more speed through the neutral zone and transition quickly to get a jump on Florida's defense.
Juuse Saros will be not only the likely starter in net but also the Predators best hope for redeeming this rough week of play. Saros has a .917 save percentage and 2.79 goals against average, and he has been able to steal wins for Nashville this season. The Predators will need Saros to make a handful of big saves to give the team a chance to stay in this game.
Today's game against last season's President's Trophy winning Florida Panthers feels extra weighty, and not just with regards to the postseason. If Nashville can't find their way back into the win column this afternoon or tomorrow night against the Minnesota Wild, there may be bigger implications for this organization than falling out of the postseason race.
How to Watch
The Predators welcome the Panthers to Bridgestone Arena for an early afternoon game today. Puck drop is scheduled for 1:00 pm CST. Bally Sports South will have pregame coverage beginning at 12:30 pm CST and 102.5 The Game will have the radio call.
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