"And I dug my key into the side
Of his pretty souped up four-wheel drive.
Carved my name into his leather seats.
I took a Louisville Slugger to both headlights
Smashed a hole in all four tires.
Maybe next time, he'll think before he cheats."
These are the famous lyrics from Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats," a song that has left Jonathan Marchessault in a particular mood toward Kelly McCrimmon. The two had an eventful contract standoff during the summer. The former Conn Smythe winner wanted a fifth year in his deal. The general manager could do three but offered a deferred salary.
The result was the 34-year-old heading to the Nashville Predators to party with Carrie Underwood and Mike Fisher. He picked up his guitar, 10-gallon hat, and cowboy boots, ready to start a country music career with his son. Fans were distraught not seeing their beloved "Misfit" skate around T-Mobile Arena anymore. But that's what happens when you ask for more than you can handle.
The two parties will meet for the first time this season, with the action going down at Bridgestone Arena. It also raises some questions about whether the "Original Misfit" will prove his former team wrong. Will Marchessault get the last laugh against the Golden Knights? Or will McCrimmon show that his superior intellect overpowers everything in his path, including French Canadians?
Breaking down the Vegas Golden Knights and Nashville Predators
The one thing the Nashville Predators love doing is hitting people. In fact, they have the seventh-most team hits in the NHL this season (1,073). That's a sharp contrast to the Vegas Golden Knights, who have 832 team hits (25th in the NHL). That tells fans one of two things must happen.
First, the Golden Knights can avoid them at all costs and invest heavily in the forecheck. You can't risk losing Mark Stone to a lacerated spleen again, do you? Creating turnovers and leading the transition game will be paramount to the Golden Knights taking control of Tuesday's game.
Two, they can crack up the hitting and lay out some Predators. Keegan Kolesar (135 hits) is a perfect sparkplug, using both physicality and forechecking skills to initiate the attack. However, that's not the main focus the team should worry about. Instead, it's the turnovers that have taken over the attack in recent games.
In fact, the Golden Knights are tied for fourth in the NHL with the Carolina Hurricanes, turning the puck over 691 times. Better passing and puck handling must be a top priority for the Golden Knights on Tuesday. Taking care of the puck won't be felt on even strength, after all. It's also felt on special teams, particularly the power play. The unit has seen a bit of a renaissance in the past week with four goals in the last five games (12 opportunities).
One thing to note is Jonathan Marchessault's new team is 4-5-1 in their past 10 games. Compare that to Stone and the Golden Knights, who've won 14 of their past 19 games. Sure, the Golden Knights might've run into a rough patch against the two New York teams. However, they should continue their rebound with a nice 4-3 victory over the Predators. In turn, that should get Marchessault "boot scootin'" out of town.