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Nashville Predators vs. Dallas Stars Preview 2/15/21: When I Look at the Stars

Saturday’s game against Detroit was a debacle. Since the Preds hopped on a plane for Dallas, have the had a chance to mentally reset?

“All my exes live in Texas…”

Nashville Predators

Saturday’s game was U-G-L-Y. (You ain’t got no alibi!!!)

Juuse Saros relieved Pekka Rinne in the third period, but the Predators tried to make up for 40+ minutes of suck in the final period…too little, too late. There was some visible post-game frustration from players like Ryan Ellis and Filip Forsberg (check out OTF’s twitter for post-game reaction).

Rocco Grimaldi and Forsberg scored against Detroit, but it was a pretty paltry offering against one of the League’s worst teams. The players aren’t happy and the fans aren’t happy. One has to wonder what’s going on in the bowels of Bridgestone Arena right now.

“It’s like we don’t want to play until we’re down and we’re chasing, and then you see some good hockey, but it’s unacceptable. There’s no excuse for that.” – Ryan Ellis

Dallas Stars

The Stars are 5-3-4. There’s not much different from the team that made the Stanley Cup run in the early fall. The same key players are doing work for the Stars: Roope Hintz, Alexander Radulov, Jamie Benn, Miro Heiskanen.

Joe Pavelski leads the Stars in points with 17 (!!) (9 goals, 8 assists). Defenseman John Klingberg has 12 points (2 goals, 10 assists). Denis Gurianov has 11 points (4 goals, 7 assists). Perhaps the most intriguing part of Dallas’s current setup is the body of work they’re getting from young netminder Jake Oettinger, a Boston University product. Oettinger and Anton Khudobin have been splitting starts this season, so expect to see both of them at some point in this series.

Our friends at Defending Big D have all the Stars coverage you need. Trust us, they’re great folks…even if they’re fans of the players in green.

Reasons to Watch

– Snow day (in much of Tennessee, some of Kentucky, some of Alabama and Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas…) Stay home, watch hockey.

– If the game gets REALLY bad, you can go outside and work on puck handling skills on the icy/snowy pavement. (We are certainly doing this in our house.)

– I’m hoping for a big game from Eeli Tolvanen. He’s no catalyst, but he provides us with a bit of hope…even if he’s being utilized on the wrong lines.

Tonight’s Theme Song

How to Watch

Puck drop is at 7:30 Central (half an hour later!)

FS-TN has your broadcast and 102.5 The Game has the radio call.

Author’s note: Tonight, we wish our friends in Texas and Tennessee the best in this winter storm. We Southerners aren’t used to this, and we’re hoping folks stay safe and warm.