Nashville Predators @ Anaheim Ducks Preview: The Long Break is Over
The Predators get back to playing hockey against the soon-to-be Pacific division champs. *knocks on wood for Ducks fans*
The Stats
| Nashville Predators | Anaheim Ducks | |||
| Record | 33-32-11 | 23rd | 50-18-8 | 3rd |
| GF/Game | 2.47 | 23rd | 3.22 | 1st |
| GA/Game | 2.91 | 22nd | 2.46 | 7th |
| 5-on-5 Close SF/60 | 29.4 | 14th | 30.6 | 8th |
| 5-on-5 Close SA/60 | 26.8 | 4th | 28.6 | 14th |
| Fenwick Close | 50.80 | 13th | 50.10 | 15th |
| 5-on-5 Close Save % | .908 | 29th | .929 | 10th |
| 5-on-4 GF/60 | 6.1 | 15th | 5.6 | 20th |
| # of PP's/Gm | 2.95 | 29th | 3.38 | 14th |
| 4-on-5 GA/60 | 7.2 | 26th | 6.6 | 21st |
| # of PK's/Gm | 2.93 | 4th | 3.29 | 15th |
The Anaheim Ducks
More on tonight's opponent
More on tonight's opponent
Anaheim has been one of the league's best all season, and now they are in coast mode as they gear up for (what they hope is) a long playoff run. As usual, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry are leading the charge and amassing points at seemingly every turn. Perry has 41 goals on the year, which is a number I don't think many Preds fans can even contemplate.
All that's left for the Ducks at this point is to clinch the Pacific division title. They are currently three points up on the Sharks, with six games left to play. The Presidents' Trophy is not out of reach, but it still seems pretty likely the Blues have it all but wrapped up.
The Nashville Predators
It seems like a lifetime ago that Carter Hutton helped his team to a shootout win against the Washington Capitals. We hope it's given some time for Pekka Rinne to cool down and figure out what's been wrong the last few games. Taking a look at his past few games, he hasn't played well. Every goal hasn't been his fault, and twice he was left in the game when both he and his team were out of it. Still, he hasn't been playing like the Pekks of old recently, which is another reason the season needs to end. A full summer to be healthy and condition should do wonders for the franchise netminder.
On the brighter side, it looks like both Seth Jones and Paul Gaustad could be returning to the lineup soon. Whether that's tonight or tomorrow is still undetermined. It also remains to be seen if Calle Jarnkrok, who was brought up in Gaustad's absence, will be sent down. As of this posting no official moves have been made, but it would be a mistake not to keep him up for the rest of the season.
Remember to set your clocks ahead, this one has a 9 p.m. CST start time and is on Sports South.