:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/assets/549651/boomer.jpeg)
[NHL.com] - [SB Nation] - [The Cannon]
6:00 PM CST | 102.9 FM | FS-TN
Note: I'm joining Willy Daunic for post-game analysis on 102.9 - Dirk
Ah, Columbus. Our favorite whipping boys. Their efforts are, in a word, cute. Always thinking they can hang with the big boys in the Central Division, and always falling short. The only team in the division to have won fewer playoff games than the Predators? Yep - Columbus. Over the course of both franchises' existence, the Predators are 42-13-1 against the Blue Jackets. That's correct - forty two, thirteen, and one.
Since 2005-6, Columbus has received 124 power plays against Nashville. The Predators have killed off 112 of them, or over 90 percent, which would be by far good enough for the top penalty kill in the NHL this season.
Additionally, multiple Predators have more points against the Blue Jackets in their respective careers than against any other team in the NHL, including Shea Weber, Martin Erat, Steve Sullivan, and Colin Wilson.
Of course, all of this isn't to say that the Preds should take Columbus lightly; in fact, quite the opposite considering the Western Conference standings. The point is that the Predators, as usual, are better than the Blue Jackets, and walking away from Nationwide Arena with anything other than two points is thoroughly unacceptable.
Lineups after the jump.
Tonight's projected lineups:
Lines via Jeremy Gover, who tweeted them from yesterday's practice. They are, obviously, subject to change, especially the defense pairings.
