Predators vs. Lightning Preview: Can Saros and the Defense Contain Stamkos and the Lightning?

The Predators travel to Amalie Arena to face off against last season's Stanley Cup finalist, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

After a scheduled five day break in hockey action, the Nashville Predators head to Tampa Bay to take on the 15-9-1 Tampa Bay Lightning. The teams met previously on November 19, and the Lightning won that game in overtime. Tonight will be Nashville's last chance to exact revenge and test themselves against Tampa Bay as the two teams won't meet again this season.

Tampa Bay is once again a top team in the NHL although they currently find themselves tied for third place in a tough Atlantic Division. The Lightning are coming off of a 4-2 loss on Tuesday night against red hot goalie Ville Husso and a surprising Detroit Red Wings team.

Nashville has found its footing in the last few weeks, going 7-2-1 in their last ten games, including wins over the New Jersey Devils and the New York Islanders. Juuse Saros has returned to his 2021-2022 form, keeping the Preds in close games by coming up with big saves while Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, and Matt Duchene are stepping up offensively as well.

The Lightning will be a big test for the Predators, and if Nashville wants to continue their winning ways, there are three things they must do.

Stop Steven Stamkos.

Stamkos is Tampa Bay's leading goal scorer, and he has been on fire this season. The 32 year old center is currently on an 11 game point streak, including 7 points in his last five games. Stamkos burned the Preds in overtime of their last game, getting a breakaway and forcing Mattias Ekholm to commit a goal interrupting penalty. Just :14 seconds after Ekholm sat down in the sin bin, Stamkos netted the game winning goal to collect two points and the win at Bridgestone Arena.

Stamkos isn't the only offensive weapon Nashville will need to contain. Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, and Nick Paul each have 11 goals, so the Preds' defense, even without former Lightning turned Predator Ryan McDonagh out, will need to play fast and sharp.

Own the net front real estate.

Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy has a .909 save percentage and a 2.75 goals against average, but he has had some up and down swings in his season so far. That is not to say that Nashville will have an easy time getting the puck past the Russian net minder.

Nashville will need to take away Vasilevskiy's sight line with well timed screens and look for tip ins in front of the goal. Is Vaislevskiy can see it, he can usually save it, so redirected shots and a crowd in the low slot will be necessary.

The defense must also lay claim to the space in front of Saros. Keeping defenders between Saros and the Lighting's firepower will give Saros a chance to keep Nashville in this game. In the November 19 battle, Kucherov skated through the Preds penalty kill like a warm knife through butter to tie the game in the second period. The defense has to help Saros out better than that this time around.

Speaking of special teams...

Stay out of the box.

Nashville's penalty problem will cost them against the Lightning. Tampa Bay has the fourth best power play in the league, and they made the Preds pay twice in the November game. Again, it comes down to stopping Stamkos, Kucherov, and Point which is hard enough at five on five, let alone on the penalty kill. The once formidable Predators kill has shown some chinks in the armor lately. Nashville has given up three power play goals in their last two games.

It's hard to know what to say about the Preds' power play. Nashville is 4/16 in their last five games on the man advantage with two goals each coming in two games. The Predators' power play is a little like the Longfellow poem about the little girl with the curl - when she was good she was very, very good, but when she was bad she was horrid.

Nashville must stay out of the box and capitalize on any power play chances they're given.

The Predators take on the Lightning tonight at 6:00 pm CST. The game will be broadcast on Bally Sports South and streamed on ESPN+. 102.5 The Game will have the radio call locally.