Nashville Predators
The Preds took a neat little 4-2 victory in Dallas last night, but their performance in a back-to-back will be tested against a St. Louis squad that’s scrappy, tough, and features James Neal.
We should see David Rittich for the first time since preseason. “Big Save Dave” will be facing a fairly tough test on the second half of a back-to-back.
I really liked the Tomasino-Johansen-Jeannot line. Jeannot and Johansen had big goals and Tomasino was right THERE with them.
The only concern from Wednesday’s game would be the injury to Alexandre Carrier. How Coach Hynes will re-shuffle his d-men if Carrier is unable to go tonight will be interesting. Does Phil Myers get a chance?
St. Louis Blues
The Blues are fresh off a huge victory in a shootout against Winnipeg. Goaltender Jordan Binnington had an incredible game and St. Louis will surely be looking for another big win from their Cup-winning goalie.
The Predators haven’t seen the Blues since February 2020. They’ve added a few new (old) faces in Brandon Saad, James Neal, Torey Krug, Marco Scandella, and Calle Rosen. Our old friend James Neal has 2 goals and 2 assists on the season.
Jordan Kyrou leads the Blues in points with 12 (3 goals, 9 assists). David Perron, journeyman forward, has 6 goals and 5 assists. Often-discussed trade fodder Vladimir Tarasenko has 4 goals and 7 assists. The Blues are rolling, and they should be a good test for Nashville as the Predators look to separate from Dallas, Chicago, and Arizona in the Central Division.
Binnington has a .928 Sv% and a 2.44 GAA over 9 games.
Keep Your Eye on This Guy
Matt Duchene.
Reasons to Watch
-From the Blues official site: “The family of Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz of Wentsville will drop the puck prior to Thursday’s game, marking the Blues’ first pregame ceremonial puck drop since the pandemic started in March 2020. Schmitz was one of the 13 service members killed in Afghanistan in August.”
Tonight’s Theme Song
How to Watch
Tonight’s puck drop is at 7:00 Central. Bally Sports South has the broadcast and 102.5 The Game has the radio call.