Nashville Predators
The Predators are the proud owners of a playoff spot less than a week before the NHL Trade Deadline. They’re the biggest wildcard, the biggest “what if?,” and the most-injured team out there. It feels silly saying “literally everyone is hurt,” but after sticking up for his teammates on Thursday, even Mathieu Olivier is hurt.
This means we could see more of David Farrance, Tyler Lewington, Michael McCarron, and possibly Rem Pitlick and Tanner Jeannot. Jeannot was just recalled from Chicago last night and it seems like the Wolves are mostly Carolina prospects + Phil Tomasino and Frederic Allard (wails).
#Preds injury updates: Eeli Tolvanen (lower body) and Dante Fabbro (upper body) are both week-to-week; Mathieu Olivier is out 4-6 weeks with a lower-body injury. The Preds have also placed Filip Forsberg on injured reserve.
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) April 9, 2021
Tonight is a game where I cannot predict a single thing. Either the Predators are going to get blown out of the water by the reigning Cup champs or they’ll end up scoring 6 with goals from guys like Yakov Trenin, Calle Jarnkrok, Erik Haula, and Nick Cousins.
The boys in gold have won 9 of their last 10 games. Stop and read that again. 9 of their last 10 in the middle of injuries to nearly every man on the bench… wins featuring recalled AHLers and depth players. I don’t really quite know how to feel.
Expect Juuse Saros in net. If the Preds manage to squeak into the playoffs, they’ll certainly face on of the Lightning or Panthers and we need to see what our tiny Finn looks like against the powerhouse Bolts.
Tampa Bay Lightning
As mentioned above – powerhouse Bolts.
However, they just won a wildly insane game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday 6-4.
It’s not worth telling you how many Tampa Players have more than 10 points or how many of their youngsters have put up incredible numbers of goals this season. The Lightning are the closest team to repeating for a Stanley Cup since Pittsburgh in 2017 and I’ll be quite surprised if they don’t make it to the Final once more.
Captain Steven Stamkos has had his fair share of injury woes and he’s questionable tonight against Nashville.
The Lightning are 5-1 against the Predators this season.
Reasons to Watch
-I’m really not entirely sure who’s in the lineup at this point. It’s like a jersey number guessing game. Yes, I know the team, but no, I do not know who’s healthy enough to be on the ice.
-More Viktor Arvidsson hat tricks, please!!!!!!!!!
-Will Andrei Vasilevskiy go back-to-back with Vezina Trophy wins?
-A strong, effective game tonight would actually give me some hope going into the last bit of the regular season. I’m not necessarily looking for a win, but I’m looking for good goaltending, good defense in front of the net, solid forechecking, and effective puck movement on the power play.
Tonight’s Theme Song
How to Watch
Puck drop is at 7:00 tonight in Bridgestone Arena. BSSO has the broadcast and 102.5 The Game will have the radio call.