The Nashville Predators welcome the Ottawa Senators to Bridgestone Arena for a matinee matchup.
After a disappointing loss Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Nashville Predators take the ice at home against the Ottawa Senators for an afternoon game. The 10-14-2 Sens also last played Thursday night against the Dallas Stars, a game Ottawa lost in overtime. In a tough December schedule, today's game is one in which the Predators must win two points to help them climb up a chaotic Central Division.
The Ottawa Senators had an interesting offseason, acquiring players Claude Giroux, Cam Talbot, and Alex DeBrincat. Debrincat's transition with the Senators hasn't gone as flawlessly as the team may have hoped. While he has 21 points, only 6 of those are goals. DeBrincat's rocky start could be just bad puck luck or perhaps needing more time to develop chemistry with line mates Shane Pinto and Drake Batherson.
Claude Giroux is having a nice start with his new team. The 34 year old forward has scored 11 goals in his season with Ottawa so far. Defenseman Thomas Chabot has warmed up recently, scoring 6 points in his 5 games, and Brady Tkachuk leads the team with 12 goals and 30 points.
This season the Senators seem to be meeting expectations, winning over less talented teams and losing to top teams in the league. Nashville needs to be prepared though - every so often the Sens can pull out a win over a very good team. Their power play has helped them eke out those victories, ranking seventh in the league. There is no one real threat on the man advantage for Ottawa. Their top unit has spread the wealth around the ice on the power play, so Nashville would do well to stay out of the penalty box this afternoon.
Goaltending could be the story of today's game. The Senators appear to be splitting time between Anton Forsberg (14 starts) and Cam Talbot (11 starts), who the Senators snagged during the offseason via trade from Minnesota. Forsberg got the nod in net Thursday night, so there is a chance Talbot could get the start today.
Nashville's Juuse Saros didn't have his best outing against the Lightning Thursday night, so head coach John Hynes will have to decide whether to give last year's Vezina finalist a chance to bounce back this afternoon. Kevin Lankinen has been a back up upgrade for the Preds, and it isn't out of the question that he gets the home start instead of Saros.
Nashville made several costly mistakes against the Tampa Bay Lightning which helped assure a Bolts' win. Avoiding those errors will be important today. Offensive leaders Filip Forsberg, Matt Duchene, and Roman Josi need to find the net for Nashville this afternoon. Forsberg and Duchene have combined for only two goals in the last five games, so last year's scoring leaders will want to step up their production today against Ottawa's 21st ranked team defense.
Perhaps the biggest opportunity for the Preds can come with secondary scoring. Much of the offensive heavy lifting for the Senators has come via their top six, and this could be a great game for Tanner Jeannot, Yakov Trenin, or snakebit Cole Smith to make an impact on the outcome.
The Predators need to earn as many "winnable" points in a challenging December schedule as possible, and today's game has a bit of a "must win" feel. After shocking the New Jersey Devils and defeating the New York Islanders, the Preds need to get back on track with a win against a below .500 team today.
The Predators and Senators game is an afternoon matchup with puck drop scheduled for 12:30 pm CST. The game will be broadcast on Bally Sports South, streamed on ESPN+, and 102.5 The Game will have the radio call locally.