Weeknight home games against the Blues are usually snoozers, missing that certain je ne sais quois as war story-filled weekend matches provide. Here’s hoping tonight is more like their last meeting in February than the average.

The St Louis Blues

St Louis Blues are coming off a Wednesday Night Rivalry (TM) versus everyone’s favorite marquee match-up, the Chicago Blackhawks. This will be their third back to back of the season,  including an opening night tilt versus the aforementioned Blackhawks. Their record so far on short rest has been positive, splitting the first and taking both halves of the second.

Vladimir Tarasenko is their team leader in goal and points with 5-6—11, with their team being held to 1 or 0 goals six times this season, tied for most in the NHL before Wednesday night. The much maligned trade for Nail Yakupov has produced crickets, outside of a beauty of a goal against his former club, and he’s been scratched for three straight games.

Jake Allen took last night’s start, so Nashville alum Carter Hutton is projected to get the start tonight. He’s started three games so far for the Blues and appeared in four for a 2-1 record and respectable .926 save percentage, which does include two appearances sub-.900.

The Nashville Predators

The Predators are trending up, just a little. They’ve picked up points in their last four games and have begun out-attempting the competition more often. While they still appear discombobulated at times, the chemistry is slowly coming together on defense.

P.K. Subban and Filip Forsberg are currently tied for the team lead in points with eight, and both of them have been doing work. Subban seems to be more comfortable with his role, both offensively and defensively. Forsberg’s done everything except score, despite being deployed with every line combination.

Pekka Rinne put on a show on Tuesday night, stopping Bobby Ryan cold off an egregious turnover by Mattias Ekholm. He’s currently sporting a .922 save percentage, good for eleventh among the thirty-nine goaltenders with at least five starts, and a 2.46 GAA. He’s been what the Predators have needed this season.

Reasons To Watch

• Filip Forsberg has to score eventually, right? And it’s going to be spectacular./

• Mr #HeyThanksForHavingMeGuys will be in the unfamiliar position of starting opposite  Pekka Rinne at Bridgestone Arena. Maybe he’ll start to give his usual third period interview at the ten minute mark to the consternation of his defensemen.
• Also on the Blues side of the ice, Vladimir Tarasenko is appointment viewing. /

Drink Of Choice For Game Time

I’ve tried to keep my drinking classy this week, so I’ll be enjoying a nice Cabernet Sauvignon.

Sights And Sounds

You can catch the game on FS-TN and listen to it on 102.5 The Game. You can also stream it through the Fox Sports Go app. Puck drops at 7:00 pm CST.