Predators Welcome Wild Tonight: Revenge Game?

The Nashville Predators take on the Minnesota Wild tonight in their second to last game of the season.

The Nashville Predators return to Bridgestone Arena for the first of their back to back final games of the season, and tonight they welcome Kiril Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and the Minnesota Wild. The Wild are headed into the postseason while their loss Tuesday night to the Winnipeg Jets served as the final nail in Nashville's playoff chance coffin for a wildcard spot. 

With one team "in" and one team "out" it may seem like tonight's game could be just a box to check. But for the Nashville Predators, an organization making a huge pivot in the franchise's direction starting at the trade deadline and heading into the offseason and NHL draft, that uncertainty serves as plenty of fuel for the roster tonight.

The teams have split the outcome of their last two meetings, and both games were decide by one goal. 

The Predators reassigned forward Egor Afanasyev to Milwaukee yesterday. Several other eligible players in the Predators locker room will likely return to the Admirals once the season wraps up in Nashville for the AHL playoffs next week. For players like Tommy Novak, Luke Evangelista, Kiefer Sherwood, Juuso Pärssinen, Phil Tomasino, and Spencer Stastney these last two games are an opportunity to show what they can contribute to an NHL roster moving forward. 

So far the young players have made a solid impression on the coaching staff and endeared themselves to a fan base who appreciated the drive and energy the youth movement brought to the ice. Players like Cody Glass and Tommy Novak could be solid pieces for a "resetting" Predators franchise to build around, and these last two games against Central Division playoff teams are a valuable opportunity for these players to make their final cases.

The Wild can't move up any further in the standings than their third place finish in the Central Division, so it will be interesting to see if Dean Evason decides to rest any players in their final game of the regular season. 

Ryan Hartman will be out of the lineup after his hit on Nikolaj Ehlers in Tuesday night's game against the Jets resulted in a one game suspension. Joel Erikson Ek is expected to miss more time with a lower body injury and Oskar Sundqvist is listed as day-to-day with a lower body injury as well. 

1. Goaltending - Whether John Hynes decides to start Juuse Saros or Kevin Lankinen in net tonight, another game of outstanding goaltending will help the Predators against Kaprizov, Boldy, and Mats Zuccarello. Juuse Saros deserves another look by GMs around the league as they prepare to cast their ballots for the Vezina Trophy, so it will be interesting to see if Hynes starts Saros in both games.

2. The Seventh Man - It has been a roller coaster of a season for Predators fans as early expectations went unmet, the team announced major chances moving forward, key pieces were lost to injury, and a surprising  playoff push reinvigorated the fan base. Tonight is a night for the players to play for the fans and for the fans to give back to this plucky team appreciation for how they have navigated a wild season. It may not be Saturday night in Smashville, but if tonight's crowd can get into this game, it will give the players plenty of energy to feed off of. 

3. Revenge is Best Served Cold - as in, on ice. The Preds needed the Wild to defeat the Jets Tuesday night, but the Wild couldn't get it done. While there may not be any playoff implications for either team tonight, it might be a good time for a bit of revenge. 

Tonight's game at Bridgestone Arena will be broadcast on Bally Sports South. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm CST and 102.5 The Game will have the radio call.