Vegas Golden Knights: Three keys to taking down the Predators

What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving for the Vegas Golden Knights than by snapping a three-game losing streak in Nashville tonight.

The Vegas Golden Knights have dropped three straight and will close out this mini road trip against the Nashville Predators tonight (5:00 p.m. PT).

Nashville, meanwhile, is 3-6-1 in their last 10 outings but they have won consecutive games, both against reigning Stanley Cup champions the St. Louis Blues.

Juuse Saros will get the start in goal for the Preds tonight and he’s 3-1-0 in his career against the Golden Knights with a 1.76 Goals Against Average and a .958 Save Percentage.

Malcolm Subban, who will start consecutive games for the first time this year, also loves playing against Nashville with a career record of 2-1 against the Predators with a 2.30 GAA and a .931 Sv%.

Both these teams have been punching below their weight so far this year and both are currently sitting outside of the playoffs.

So, and with Thanksgiving seen as the line of demarcation for teams in the NHL, tonight’s contest is a huge one for the Nashville Predators and the Vegas Golden Knights.

Here are three keys to the game…

1. Get strong goaltending

As already mentioned, Malcolm Subban enjoys his outings against the Nashville Predators with a 2-1-0 record, and he will make his second consecutive start tonight.

Overall, Subban hasn’t been stellar this season and he currently has a losing record to his name, although tonight will give him the opportunity to atone for that.

With Juuse Saros also red hot against the Golden Knights in his career, strong goaltending will be key for both teams in tonight’s contest and if Malcolm Subban can stand on his head for his team, then that could be enough for Vegas to snap their losing-streak.

2. Generate plenty of traffic

The Nashville Predators are among the worst in the National Hockey League when it comes to goals allowed, so that is a weakness the Vegas Golden Knights will need to try and exploit tonight.

Vegas certainly has the firepower and the likes of William Karlsson, Mark Stone and Paul Stastny are starting to get hot again after all going through slumps during the month of November.

If the Knights can get pucks to the net, generate plenty of traffic and heap the pressure on this porous defense, then they can win this contest by simply outscoring the Predators.

3. Quick start

We all know how loud Bridgestone Arena can be so the Vegas Golden Knights will need to shut out the noise and instead focus on ways they can quiet the home crowd.

The perfect way to do that?

Come out flying, get an early goal or two and really put the struggling Nashville Predators on the back foot in their own barn.

If the Golden Knights can get pucks in deep early, play hard on the forecheck and dominate puck possession, then a quick start could lead to a successful night at the office.