Can the Vegas Golden Knights head into Thanksgiving with a win? We will find out tonight as they go toe-to-toe with another struggling team in the Nashville Predators.
After dropping a tough one in Dallas on Monday, the Vegas Golden Knights (11-11-4) have now lost three straight and they close out this mini road trip against a Predators team (11-9-3) who are 3-6-1 in their last 10 outings.
However, the Preds have won consecutive games after beating the Stanley Cup champions in both games of a home-and-home doubleheader, including prevailing over the St. Louis Blues in a shootout on Monday.
As a result, Nashville should be brimming with confidence and they, like the Knights, will be hoping to use this game as a spark to turn their year around and become the playoff contender we all thought they would be.
They were given a boost on Monday after Daniel Carr, formerly a member of the Golden Knights organization, returned to the lineup and notched the game-winner in the fourth round of the shootout.
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The Predators haven’t gotten great goaltending this year and that has contributed to a lot of their problems, with Pekka Rinne 8-4-2 with a 3.06 Goals Against Average and a .889 Save Percentage, while backup goalie Juuse Saros is 3-5-2 with a 3.13 GAA and a .891 Sv%.
Nashville is ranked near the bottom of the NHL when it comes to Goals Against Per Game, although they do boast a plethora of offensive firepower and they are among the best in the league when it comes to scoring.
They have also been let down by their special teams and they rank below average on both the power play and on the penalty kill.
Stud defenseman Roman Josi, who recently signed an eight-year, $72,472,000 contract, leads the Predators in points with 24 (seven goals, 17 assists), while Matt Duchene, who was one of the big names available in free agency, has seven goals and 12 assists for 19 points.
Nashville is a physical team who can skate hard and fast and their defensemen like to jump up in the play and help provide offense.
Bridgestone Arena is also a raucous home barn and the Preds will look to feed off that energy and try and get an early hold on this game.
Juuse Saros will get the start in net for the Nashville Predators tonight and he is 3-1 in his career against the Knights with a 1.76 Goals Against Average and a .958 Save Percentage.
For the Vegas Golden Knights, the key to tonight is coming out fast and hard and not giving the Predators an inch.
Malcolm Subban will get his second consecutive start for the first time this year, and the backup goalie is 2-1 in his career against the Predators with a 2.30 GAA and a .931 Sv%, so that sets up a fascinating goaltending battle this evening.
Garret Sparks will be the backup to Malcolm Subban tonight after being called up from the AHL on an emergency basis, with Marc-Andre Fleury currently away from the team due to a family illness.
These two franchises have met once already this season with the Nashville Predators running out 5-2 victors, despite the Golden Knights taking a 2-1 lead into the second period.
Let’s take a look at the projected lineups for both teams tonight, per nhl.com…
Vegas Golden Knights
Jonathan Marchessault – William Karlsson – Reilly Smith
Max Pacioretty – Paul Stastny – Mark Stone
Alex Tuch – Cody Eakin – Cody Glass
William Carrier – Tomas Nosek – Ryan Reaves
Malcolm Subban
Garret Sparks
Scratched: Jon Merrill, Marc-Andre Fleury
Injured: None
Suspended: Valentin Zykov
Nashville Predators
Filip Forsberg – Ryan Johansen – Calle Jarnkrok
Daniel Carr – Matt Duchene – Mikael Granlund
Rocco Grimaldi – Nick Bonino – Craig Smith
Austin Watson – Colton Sissons – Mathieu Olivier
Roman Josi – Ryan Ellis
Juuse Saros
Pekka Rinne
Scratched: Kyle Turris, Yannick Weber
Injured: Viktor Arvidsson (lower body)
Here is all the essential information you need to know prior to faceoff…
Time: 5:00 p.m. PT
Where: Bridgestone Arena – Nashville
TV Broadcast: AT&T Sportsnet
Radio: FOX Sports 98.9/1340
Live Streaming: ESPN+ has a free 7-day trial that includes live streaming for this game on all your smart devices! Besides NHL games, ESPN+ features a selection of live games from MLB, MLS, Serie A, FA Cup, and EFL. Get in on the action with Live UFC Fight Nights, 30+ Top Rank Boxing cards, Grand Slam tennis from Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open.
Finishing Off
It is a huge game for both teams tonight and the Vegas Golden Knights will be hoping to spark their season back into life by claiming what would be a huge win.