The struggling Nashville Predators' offense faces a top tier offensive powerhouse with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl tonight at Bridgestone Arena.
After a 1-0 overtime loss against the St. Louis Blues last night, the Nashville Predators must find a way to bounce back against the 16-13-0 Edmonton Oilers, a team that has overpowered the Preds in recent seasons. The Oilers have won 8 of the last 10 meetings and outscored the Predators 44-21 in the process. For a team with Nashville's current struggles, this is an untimely matchup.
The Preds are coming off of a 1-0 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues in a game that could be called "underwhelming" at best. A big storyline going into last night's game was the Preds' pieced together defensive corp after losing Alexandre Carrier (week to week, upper body injury) and Jeremy Lauzon (day to day, upper body injury) Saturday. Nashville recalled Roland McKeown and Kevin Gravel to step in, and the two defensive partners in Milwaukee continued working together on the third pairing for Nashville. The defense held their own against the Blues, limiting St. Louis to only 24 shots.
It was, however, the Predators' offense that ended up being the big story of the night, or at least their lack of offense. Even with four power play opportunities, the Preds only recorded 25 shots on goal. Despite the advantage in time of possession and four power play chances against the worst ranked penalty kill in the league, the Preds couldn't get a single goal in 62:23.
And that lack of top line scoring may be the biggest issue for the Nashville Predators.
The top line of Filip Forsberg, Mikael Granlund, and Matt Duchene recorded 5 shots on goal last night, 2 of which were high danger chances. Their xGF (expected goals for) was .21. The third line of Yakov Trenin, Juuso Pärssinen, and Tanner Jeannot had six high danger chances for and an xGF of .59. Of course, no one in a Nashville uniform scored last night, but the top line isn't generating the team's best chances, and when they have good looks, they aren't finishing.
The Preds rank second to last in team scoring so far this season, and the top players have to shoulder a good part of that responsibility. Nashville currently has one player in double digits when it comes to goal scoring (Nino Niederreiter), and last year's record setting offensive threats Matt Duchene, Filip Forsberg, and Roman Josi have combined for only 20 goals in 26 games. If the Predators hope to be competitive at all against a top offensive team with Connor McDavid, the best goal scorer in the league, Nashville's top players must produce chances and finish them.
The Oilers boast not only McDavid, but Leon Draisaitl who has been Nashville's kryptonite in recent meetings. Draisaitl has 19 goals on the season. Twelve of Draisaitl's goals have come on the power play, so the Preds can't afford to commit penalties tonight. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is having a terrific season so far, earning 33 points in 29 games while Zach Hyman has collected 29 points and 10 goals for the Oilers.
Nashville's defense managed well against the Blues last night, but tonight will be a far more difficult challenge against Edmonton. Dante Fabbro and Jordan Gross will need to step up when they're on the ice, and Gravel and McKeown can't buckle under the offensive pressure they'll face. The Oilers play a fast game, and the Preds' defense will need to keep the game in front of them as much as possible.
This isn't the ideal matchup for Nashville coming off of a mediocre effort last night, but it's the game they've got. The Preds will need plenty of offense from the top guys, a clean game, and highlight reel saves from either Juuse Saros or Kevin Lankinen.
The Predators take on the Oilers tonight at Bridgestone Arena, and puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm CST. The game will be broadcast on Bally Sports South and 102.5 The Game will have the radio call locally.