Nashville Predators @ Dallas Stars Preview: Thinking of Pevs
As the Nashville Predators head south to face division rival Dallas tonight, we can't help but recall the terrifying health scare suffered recently by former Predator Rich Peverley.
The Stats
| Nashville Predators | Dallas Stars | |||
| Record | 32-31-11 | 22nd | 34-27-11 | 18th |
| GF/Game | 2.46 | 22nd | 2.78 | 12th |
| GA/Game | 2.85 | 22nd | 2.81 | 20th |
| 5-on-5 Close SF/60 | 29.6 | 14th | 31.9 | 6th |
| 5-on-5 Close SA/60 | 26.9 | 4th | 29.5 | 17th |
| Fenwick Close | 50.70 | 13th | 52.10 | 9th |
| 5-on-5 Close Save % | .910 | 27th | .911 | 26th |
| 5-on-4 GF/60 | 6.2 | 14th | 5.6 | 20th |
| # of PP's/Gm | 3.01 | 28th | 3.54 | 4th |
| 4-on-5 GA/60 | 6.9 | 24th | 6.5 | 21st |
| # of PK's/Gm | 2.95 | 3rd | 3.22 | 13th |
Dallas Stars
More on tonight's opponent
More on tonight's opponent
The Stars are fighting for the final playoff spot, yada yada yada...
For tonight's game, let's put the focus on a former Nashville Predator who survived a major health scare recently. Rich Peverley has dealt with heart issues all season long, and on March 10 he collapsed on the bench, shortly after coming off a shift in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Immediate action by the medical staff restored Peverley's heartbeat, and he's had a followup procedure to help correct the root cause. His return to hockey is uncertain at this point, but we should all be glad that the worst was avoided.
Our comrades over at Defending Big D have organized a fundraiser on Peverley's behalf, trying to raise enough money to buy an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) in coordination with Living For Zachary, a locally based charity. The presence of an AED near the Stars' bench helped save Peverley's life, and I sincerely hope you head over to Defending Big D's page and consider making a donation of your own.
Nashville Predators
The team should be brimming with confidence after last night's 6-1 curb-stomping of the Buffalo Sabres. All the forwards made it onto the scoresheet, and Shea Weber added a pair of goals to reach the 20-goal plateau. Yup, scoring was the theme of the night at Bridgestone Arena.
As far as tonight's lineup goes, expect a repeat of last night, only with Pekka Rinne in goal. Seth Jones, Patrick Eaves and Paul Gaustad are still out with injuries per Willy Daunic's tweet yesterday.
Game time is 7:30 p.m. Central on Fox Sports TN tonight, so check back later for the game thread!