The Preds face the Ducks tonight. The Ducks have somewhat fallen out of relevance after last season, and most of their home games feature large numbers of empty seats.
Nashville Predators
The Predators seemed to sleep through much of Saturday’s game against the Panthers until the third period. Roman Josi and Kyle Turris both scored to tie the game, but the Predators only picked up one point in the shootout loss.
Miikka Salomäki remains with the team, and Yakov Trenin has been reassigned to Milwaukee. This suggests that either Filip Forsberg or Rocco Grimaldi is ready to return to the lineup. With Daniel Carr now in Milwaukee, Salomäki could be the scratched forward if Grimaldi and Forsberg can skate tonight.
In terms of overall play, the Predators looked like they were still ironing out a few wrinkles in their play. However, they looked much better than they did on the road against the Coyotes. A big win over a much-hated opponent will inject some confidence into a team that has the firepower to score boatloads of goals.
Anaheim Ducks
Led by Jakob Silfverberg with 8 points (5 goals, 3 assists), the Ducks are off to a 6-3-0 start out in California. They’ve played two more games than the Predators and truthfully, they haven’t looked awful. After losing Corey Perry in the offseason, the Ducks were somewhat written off as a rebuilding squad in the West. A healthy mix of veterans and youngsters in the lineup has shown some nice early returns.
Rickard Rakell, Hampus Lindholm, and Adam Henrique are just behind Silfverberg on the Anaheim points list. Captain Ryan Getzlaf has 2 goals and 2 assists. The Ducks lost a tight contest to the Calgary Flames on Sunday evening.
Longtime agitator Ryan Kesler will likely not put on a Ducks sweater for all of the 2019-2020 season while rehabbing from injury.
John Gibson has a .939 Sv% over 7 games and Ryan Miller has a .940 Sv% in 2 games. Gibson, when healthy, has been one of the best goalies in the NHL. He makes incredible saves and he’s only 26 years old. The Predators will have to work hard to bury pucks behind him.
Memories and Feelings
- I don’t need to re-post the last few minutes of the 2017 Western Conference Final to remind you of the glory and excitement of advancing to the Stanley Cup Final. Glorious.
- No more “sad Corey Perry.”
- John Gibson is an incredible goalie and he’s a joy to watch. I wish he didn’t play for the Ducks. /
Reasons to Watch
- Anger! And fisticuffs! And hateful goals! (please no injuries)
- I’d like to see more Kyle Turris top-cheese goals, please.
- Can we start the week off right with a big Tuesday night win? /
Tonight’s Theme Song
There’s so much hatred between these two teams, but Nashville gets the best of Anaheim when it counts the most.
Tonight’s Drink of Choice
Jefferson’s Aged at Sea Bourbon. I bought this for my best friend’s fiancé (now husband) for their wedding last weekend. An excellent selection.
How to Watch
Tonight’s game is at 7:00 Central. FS-Tennessee will have the broadcast and 102.5 The Game has the radio call.