Predators vs. Wild Preview: Central Division Showdown

Nashville and Minnesota are both off to shaky starts, and tonight may reveal which of these central division rivals are turning a corner.

The Nashville Predators host the Minnesota Wild tonight at Bridgestone Arena, and both teams need these two central division points to recover from disappointing starts to the season. After early ups and downs, both teams hope tonight's game marks a turning point moving forward. 

The Nashville Predators enter tonight's game with a disappointing 6-8-1 record after struggling with inconsistent goaltending, lackluster starts from last season's offensive leaders, and losses punctuated by costly mistakes. The Predators are coming off of one of their most complete games so far this season, a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers. A solid win tonight would go a long way in reassuring Smashville that this team is gaining valuable traction.

The Wild battled their own rough start to the season losing their first three games. While it has at times looked like the Wild gained their footing, the team hasn't been able to string together more than two wins before an off game interrupts the positive momentum. The Wild are coming off of a frustrating shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks that saw Minnesota lose a two goal lead with less than seven minutes left in the third period. 

Kirill Kaprizov is the engine that powers the Wild offensively. In 15 games, Kaprizov has scored 10 goals, including 5 power play goals. Line mate Mats Zuccarello has chipped in 6 goals, and young Matt Boldy is coming into his own this season with 6 goals as well. 

Saturday night saw the Predators debut for Juuso Pärssinen who scored his first NHL goal on his first NHL shot against the Rangers. Hopes are high for the young Finnish forward, but he will need line mate Filip Forsberg to step up as well as last season's record setting goal scorer Matt Duchene to generate offense. Duchene and depth scorer Tanner Jeannot have been far too quiet for the Preds so far this season, and a central division matchup is as good a time as any to get their games going. 

Goaltending has been an Achilles heel for the Preds in their first fifteen games. Juuse Saros struggled in his early starts but looked like his last season self in the win over the Rangers. Nashville fans are likely to see Saros again in net tonight against the Wild.

Marc-Andre Fleury has gotten the bulk of Minnesota's started earning a .905 save percentage in his eleven games. Filip Gustavsson started in net against the Sharks in Saturday's loss but has earned a .914 save percentage in his four starts. 

Tonight's game could be the story of two very different power plays. The Wild's man advantage performance sits at a threatening 24% while Nashville's conversion rate on the power play bottoms out below 15%. 

The Preds' struggling power play won't face an easy time against Minnesota's robust kill that has netted three shorthanded goals. Nashville's kill will have its hands full with a top power play unit of Kaprizov, Zuccarello, Boldy, Joel Erikson Ek, and Calen Addison.

Both teams will want to live Bridgestone Arena with two big points, so expect a game with intensity and edge. Puck drop for tonight's Wild/Predators game is scheduled for 7:00 pm CST.