It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
Or something.
The Predators find themselves out of the wildcard race but with a chance to roll into the holidays with a string of wins.
Nashville Predators
Although their win over the New Jersey Devils was nice, there were a few things that need cleaned up. It was excellent to see Yakov Trenin get his first NHL goal. It seems Mikael Granlund is practicing again after sustaining a lower-body injury, and with the exception of Viktor Arvidsson, the forward corps has been mostly healthy in the first third of the season.
I expect a motivated team tonight, eager to get back in the playoff hunt after a few stumbles. San Jose is just above Nashville in the Western Conference standings. The Predators have a win and a shootout loss against the Sharks this season.
San Jose Sharks
The Sharks dropped a quite disappointing game to the Panthers last weekend. They’re struggling a bit.
Logan Couture leads the team in points with 29 (9 goals, 20 assists). Evander Kane has 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) and Tomas Hertl has 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists). Erik Karlsson leads defenseman in points with 24 points (3 goals, 21 assists).
The Sharks are a relatively healthy bunch. Only forward Antti Suomela is on injured reserve.
Neither Martin Jones nor Aaron Dell have been able to provide steady, reliable goaltending for San Jose. Jones has a .889 Sv% over 24 games and Dell has a .893 Sv% over 8 games.
Memories and Feelings
- I don’t know many Nashville fans who have a soft spot in their hearts for San Jose. Too much playoff heartbreak involves the Sharks.
- Yakov Trenin. Get the kid in the game!!!/
Reasons to Watch
- If you get to attend the game, there’s Roman Josi bobbleheads!
- Hockey is more fun than most sports.
- Watching hockey is more fun than slugging through mall traffic for Christmas shopping. /
Tonight’s Theme Song
Just go ahead and resign yourself to the fact that this will be stuck in your heard.
How to Watch
Tonight’s game is at 7:00 Central. Fox Sports-TN has the broadcast and 102.5 The Game has the radio call.