The Nashville Predators returned home after a quick one-game trip to Colorado for another three-game homestand that started against the Columbus Blue Jackets. It could not have gone much better. The Preds won 6-0 on the back of four goals from Filip Forsberg ad a perfect night from Juuse Saros.
Now, in the second game of the Preds’ stay in town, they will welcome yet another Eastern Conference foe, this time the Boston Bruins.
Nashville Predators
Most all of the attention from Tuesday night’s beatdown of the Blue Jackets has gone to Forsberg, and rightfully so. The Swede took four shots on goal, and scored on all of them; that’s pretty good. Another Predator that deserves praise, though, is fellow Scandinavian Mikael Granlund.
His four assists on the night led the team, the next closest player being Matt Duchene with two. If all three of those forwards are clicking in top gear, Nashville has some legit offensive firepower.
The work of Saros should also not go unnoticed. While the Preds scored enough that his shutout didn’t end up mattering to the result of the game, the composure to let nothing slip, even in a blowout, is laudable.
Boston Bruins
Preds fans will recognize a few faces on this year’s Bruins squad, such as Craig Smith and Erik Haula. Overall, though, this team is the Boston team you’ve grown used to watching.
Offensively, the team is still led by the three-headed monster of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak. Marchand (serving a suspension for slewfooting tonight) currently sits in ninth place in the league for points at 24, tied with Matt Duchene. The Bruins pride themselves on special teams play; the power play unit sits at fifth in the league in efficiency at 25.9%, and the penalty kill is 11th at 83.9%.
Boston is sitting on the outside and looking into the wild card race in the Eastern Conference, sitting three points below Detroit for the last spot. While the Bruins currently are not in a playoff spot, they sport a higher points percentage than Nashville. Games against the Bruins never fail to include a healthy portion of physicality, so we should be in for a good one tonight.
Where to Watch
Puck drop is at 7 p.m. central; the game will be airing on Bally Sports South and broadcasted on 102.5 The Game.