Juuse Saros and the Preds have put together two solid games. Can they make it three in a row against the New York Islanders tonight?
The Nashville Predators take on the New York Islanders tonight at Bridgestone Arena where the Predators are hoping to earn their first three game win streak with a win over a surprising Metropolitan Division team.
The Islanders enter the game tonight with a record of 11-6 in which they have won six of their last eight games. The scoring has been led by 31 year old Brock Nelson who has recorded 8 goals and 8 assists in the Isles' 17 games played. Perhaps as impressive are the 18 assists Mathew Barzal has been dishing out like a hockey Father Christmas so far this season. Anders Lee and Noah Dobson round out the top of the points leaderboard for the Islanders.
Goaltending has been strong for the Islanders this season with Ilya Sorokin going 7-4 in his 11 starts. Sorokin has earned a .932 save percentage while back up Semyon Varlamov has a .920 save percentage from his 4-2 record in net. Varlamov played Monday night against the Ottawa Senators, so the Predators will likely face Sorokin tonight at Bridgestone Arena.
The Predators have put together two solid back to back wins against the New York Rangers and the Minnesota Wild. A big piece to those wins was the improved play of goaltender Juuse Saros in net. After a rocky start to the season, Saros appears to have settled back in and with the team executing more cleanly in front of him, Nashville has been able to pull out close wins.
Nino Niederreiter scored against the Wild in Tuesday night's matchup and leads the Predators with 7 goals on the season, followed by Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen with 5 goals each. Matt Duchene, a player who like Saros has had a slower start this season, is starting to find his game especially after sharing ice time with Johansen and Niederreiter.
Head coach John Hynes has indicated that there may be a few adjustments when it comes to the defensive pairings in tonight's game. With Mark Borowiecki still on IR and defensive call up Jordan Gross back in Milwaukee, Hynes will have to make do with changing the players around to firm up the defense.
The Predators take on the New York Islanders tonight at 7:00 pm CST at Bridgestone Arena. The game will be broadcast on Bally Sports South, streamed on ESPN+, and 105.2 The Game will have the radio call locally.