The Predators (2-4-1 on the season) resume their 6-game road trip tonight in Beantown, where the Bruins (3-4-0) are looking to rebound from a 4-1 defeat at Phoenix last Saturday.
Interestingly, the last time these teams met was on February 14th last season; David Legwand put together an "Alex Ovechkin Hat Trick", with two goals in regulation and one in the shootout to lift the Preds to a 3-2 win at the Sommet Center.
Is there any chance that we'll see a similar outburst from #11 tonight? With Jason Arnott out for the next 1-2 weeks, it would certainly be a good time for it...
Meet the EnemyStanley Cup of Chowder is SB Nation's Boston Bruins blog, so be sure to stop by and check out their preview; the quick Boston take on the game?
"The Bruins have made several roster moves this week, including trading Chuck Kobasew to the Minnesota Wild, trading picks to the Buffalo Sabres for Daniel Paille, placing Milan Lucic on the LTIR, and calling up Brad Marchand and Vladimir Sobotka. The new look Bruins will try to bounce back from a disappointing 4-1 road loss to the Phoenix Coyotes."
It's hard to forecast what the Boston lines will look like tonight given all the changes going on.
Savard, the Bruins' leading scorer with 4 goals and 3 assists, did practice yesterday with the team.
UPDATE: From Kukla's Korner comes news that Savard will miss 4-6 weeks with a broken foot. That's a huge loss for the Bruins.
Meet the Good Guys
Without their captain and leading goal-scorer, the rest of the forwards will certainly need to step up their contributions. The lines are likely as follows:
Sullivan - O'Reilly - Dumont
Erat - Legwand - Ward
Goc - Wilson - Hornqvist
Jones - Smithson - Scatchard
Bouillon - Weber
Suter - Klein
Franson - Sulzer
Even Strength Play
| TEAM | GP | TOI | GF | GA | GF/60 | SF/60 | Sht % | GA/60 | SA/60 | Save Pct. | +/- per 60 |
| Boston | 7 | 315 | 13 | 11 | 2.5 | 29.9 | 8.3 | 2.1 | 26.5 | .921 | 0.4 |
| Nashville | 7 | 339.4 | 8 | 14 | 1.4 | 24.9 | 5.7 | 2.5 | 29.3 | .916 | -1.1 |
Not exactly a cheery picture for the Preds, but the Bruins aren't exactly tearing things up, either.
Boston PP vs. Nashville PK
The Bruins' power play currently stands 22nd in the league, with a 15.6% success rate. One problem area for Nashville has been the penalty killing, which sits 29th at 66.7%. Will new call-up Dave Scatchard see some time on the PK, perhaps? The Preds need to plug this hole quickly, as they have typically been a strong penalty-killing
Nashville PP vs. Boston PK
What did I tell you last time? Just... don't... ask.
Goaltending
Tim Thomas is off to a slow start this season, but with a starting spot on the US Olympic team up for grabs, he's certainly motivated to make an impression.
Dan Ellis may get the start tonight, based on Bryan Mullen's notes from Tuesday's practice.
Summary
There's opportunity on the table tonight for the Predators; Boston has not played like the regular season juggernaut of a year ago, and they've shuffled their roster significantly in the last few days. Especially with Savard and Lucic out of the lineup, can the Preds catch the Bruins in a state of disarray, perhaps?