Rookie phenom Connor Bedard returns to Bridgestone Arena where his NHL career began last summer, as the longtime rival Chicago Blackhawks come to Nashville, where both teams are looking to improve on struggling starts.
Nashville Predators (5-10-0)
The Predators enter today’s game at 5-10-0 (10 pts), good for 31st in the NHL. They returned home after the long road trip with games against the Arizona Coyotes and Anaheim Ducks and rushed out to two 2-0 leads, but couldn’t play complete games, losing 7-5 and 3-2 respectively. Now with Tommy Novak on injured reserve for 4-6 weeks, this inexperienced lineup will have to fill in and pick up the scoring, but so far, that hasn’t quite happened yet.
One Up, One Down
One Up: Filip Forsberg. If this is a rebuilding year, nobody has told Fil. He’s had six goals and ten points in his last six games, scoring a point in 5 of 6. His goal against Anaheim was a crazy batted shot out of the air that I still can’t believe went in, but his performance goes beyond just the score sheet: his effort at all 200 feet has been phenomenal and linemate Ryan O’Reilly has been a tremendous complement to Forsberg’s game.
One Down: Juuse Saros. There’s a chance that goaltender Kevin Lankinen gets the start against his former team, and if he does, it might be a good thing. Juuse Saros sits at 4-9-0 with an 82.9% save percentage and the highest Goals Against Average of his career, and hasn’t won a game in November – in fact he’s given up 3 or more goals in every start. Still, Saros has a history of starting slow, and his past performance has earned him some leeway, but Saros will need to start playing up to his usual self soon. Andrew Brunette expressed confidence in Saros this week, saying he’s not worried about the young Finn, but if he can’t get a win in his next 2-3 starts, it might be time to panic.
Chicago Blackhawks (5-9-0)
If Nashville wanted a win against a similarly weak opponent, they’ve got one – the Blackhawks sit in 30th place in the NHL, just above the Predators. Surprisingly, Chicago has only played five games this month, notching an impressive win against the Florida Panthers on 11/4, as well as a 5-3 win against Tampa Bay on 11/9. Despite going 2-3-0 on the month, Chicago has either scored four or more goals, or given four or more up, and I wouldn’t expect that trend to stop anytime soon. Chicago is among the worst teams in the NHL at giving up shot attempts (>70 shot attempts against per 60 minutes), as well as in shot attempts taken (52 shot attempts for per 60 minutes). But it isn’t just shot quantity and puck possession that Chicago is struggling with at 5 on 5: they’re actually worse than bottom-feeding San Jose, giving up more expected goals against/60 and producing the lowest xG/60 against in the entire NHL.
One Up, One Down
One Up: Connor Bedard. Of course it’s Connor. Bedard leads all rookies with nine goals in 14 games and 13 points – five more than the next highest rookie, Anaheim’s Leo Carlsson. In his last five games, Bedard has five goals and two assists and comes into the Tire Barn red-hot. His defensive game isn’t quite there yet, but when you can score like this kid can, it might not be as important.
One Down: The Chicago power play: Chicago sits at 27th in the league with a 12.5% power play percentage and has gone just 3 of 14 in the month of November, with two of those coming in games against Tampa Bay. Nashville’s penalty kill is the third worst in the NHL right now at 70%, so something has to give one way or the other.
How to Watch
Today’s contest will be broadcast on Bally Sports and 102.5 the Game. The puck drops at Bridgestone Arena at 1 PM Central.