It is Saturday night in Smashville, and the Nashville Predators must shake off Thursday's loss and show the Nashville crowd a better sixty minutes of hockey.
It is a tenuous time in Smashville. Two close but unimpressive wins earlier in the week followed by a 5-2 loss against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday have many questioning whether this team can find a way to rally and play with enough consistency to eke their way into a playoff spot. With just three games left until the All Star break, the Nashville Predators must start by putting together a better sixty minutes of hockey tonight against the 25-16-6 L.A. Kings.
Nashville is the first stop on the Kings' six game road trip. On Thursday night L.A. was shut out at home by the Dallas Stars. Phoenix Copley, who has started 15 games in net for the Kings, was pulled after Dallas scored their fourth goal on 17 shots in the second period. Goaltending has been one of the challenges for the Kings this season. Copley and NHL veteran Jonathan Quick have each struggled in net, and neither currently has a save percentage above .900.
Several familiar faces will be returning to Bridgestone Arena in Kings' jerseys tonight including L.A.'s points leader Kevin Fiala. Fiala has 47 points including 16 goals in 47 games. Viktor Arvidsson, another former Predator, has earned 33 points this season including 12 goals. Anze Kopitar and Phillip Danault round out the top four points leaders while Adrain Kempe and Gabriel Vilardi lead the Kings in goal scoring. Vilardi is currently listed as day to day after missing the Kings' last two games.
L.A. ranks 11th on the power play but have struggled to help their goalies out when it comes to killing off penalties. They are 14th best in the league in goals for per game, but that inconsistent goaltending allows 3.40 goals against per game.
Inconsistency is something the Predators have wrestled with this season. What can they do tonight to get back to a better executed, more consistent performance?
Keys to the Game
1. Goaltending. It is no secret that Juuse Saros has stolen games for the Predators this season. He ranks third best in goals saved above expected, but in the game against the Blues there were a few goals I'm sure he'd like back. No, it isn't fair that Nashville relies so heavily on their goaltending to earn them points, but we saw Thursday night how this team plays when Saros or Kevin Lankinen aren't at their best.
2. Win the face-off battles. Nashville ranks in the top ten for face-off percentage but won only 29% of the face-offs against St. Louis. With players in the circle like Colton Sissons, Ryan Johansen, and young Cody Glass and Juuso Pärssinen, Nashville needs to come away with that puck and once they have possession, keep it.
3. Get the power play going again. The L.A. Kings sit near the bottom of the league when it comes to killing off penalties, so tonight could be a good opportunity for a special teams reset. Nashville's power play units need to stop looking for style points and one extra pass and work to get the puck in the zone and on net. If the Preds can get set up on the man advantage, look for players like Cody Glass or Nino Niederreiter to clean up any net front rebounds.
How to Watch
The Predators host the Kings tonight at Bridgestone Arena, and puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm CST. The game will be broadcast on Bally Sports South and 102.5 The Game will have the radio call.
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