About Nashville
Last Game: Last Game: Nashville 2 @ Toronto 0
Last Ten Games: 4-6-0
Away Record: 8-13-2
OT/Shootout Record: 5-3
Record vs. Montreal: 0-0-0
Goals For: 106
Goals Against: 121
Power Play Ranking: 13.6%, 28th
Away Power Play Ranking: 13.0%, 27th
Penalty Kill Ranking: 84.3%, 7th
Away Penalty Kill Ranking: 81.7%, 13th
Nashville Team Leaders
Goals: Jason Arnott, 15
Assists: Jean-Pierre Dumont, 26
Points: Dumont, 33 (7g+26a)
Power Play Goals: Arnott/Shea Weber, 5
Power Play Scoring:
Short-Handed Goals: David Legwand, 2
Short-Handed Scoring: Legwand (2g+1a), Scott Nichol (0g+3a)
Shots: Weber, 132
Shooting Percentage: Ryan Jones, 14.8%
Plus-Minus: Weber/Greg Zanon, +6
Penalty Minutes: Jordin Tootoo, 76
Hits: Weber, 95
Blocked Shots: Zanon, 125
Giveaways: Dumont, 30
Takeaways: Dan Hamhuis, 34
Turnover Differential: Joel Ward, +19
Faceoffs Won: Arnott, 278-247
Faceoff Percentage: Radek Bonk, 62.7%
Time On Ice: Ryan Suter, 23:32
Wins: Pekka Rinne, 10-5-0
Minutes Played: Dan Ellis, 1654
Goals Against Average: Rinne, 2.17
Save Percentage: Rinne, .921
Shutouts: Rinne, 4
Nashville Fun Fact: Steve Sullivan recorded his first point after returning from back surgery. His final points before his 153-game hiatus were recorded on February 22, 2007, against, you guessed, tonight's opponent, the Montréal Canadiens.
Nashville Player to Watch: David Legwand has a four-game scoring streak going, and also has four goals in his last four games (though not one in each game).
Nashville Reason to Worry: The Canadiens have found the back of the net 35 times in their eight games since Christmas (4.38 goals per game).
Nashville Injury Report
Jason Arnott (Upper Body, Questionable Out)
Scott Nichol (Concussion, Out)
Greg De Vries (Post-Concussion Syndrome, Out)
Kevin Klein (Flu-Like Symptoms, Probable)
Dan Hamhuis (Ankle, Probable)
Shea Weber (Bruised Foot, Questionable Out)
About Montréal
Last Game: Boston 3 vs. Montreal 1
Last Ten Games: 7-2-1
Home Record: 14-4-4
OT/Shootout Record: 7-6
Record vs. Nashville: 0-0-0
Goals For: 133
Goals Against: 112
Power Play Ranking: 15.4%, 23rd
Home Power Play Ranking: 14.2%, 25th
Penalty Kill Ranking: 82.1%, 13th
Home Penalty Ranking: 81.0%, 21st
Montréal Team Leaders
Goals: Robert Lang, 16
Assists: Andrei Markov, 26
Points: Lang (16g+16a), Markov (6g+26a), Alexei Kovalev (11g+21a)
Power Play Goals: Lang, 6
Power Play Scoring: Markov, 16 (3g+13a)
Short-Handed Goals: Tomas Plekanec, 3
Short-Handed Scoring: Plekanec (3g+0a), Roman Hamrlik (0g+3a)
Shots: Kovalev, 130
Shooting Percentage: Alex Tanguay, 18.9%
Plus-Minus: Josh Gorges, +15
Penalty Minutes: Tom Kostopoulos, 60
Hits: Steve Begin, 96
Blocked Shots: Hamrlik, 100
Giveaways: Markov, 54
Takeaways: Markov, 31
Turnover Differential: Saku Koivu, +11
Faceoffs Won: Tomas Plekanec, 390-380
Faceoff Percentage: Koivu, 54.3%
Time On Ice: Markov, 24:28
Wins: Carey Price, 16-4-5
Minutes Played: Price, 1514
Goals Against Average: Price, 2.30
Save Percentage: Price, .921
Shutouts: Price, 1
Montréal Fun Fact: The Canadiens have a whopping TEN first round picks on their roster (including injured reserve). They are, from most recent draft year: Max Pacioretty, Carey Price, Kyle Chipchura, Andrei Kostitsyn, Chris Higgins, Mike Komisarek, Alex Tanguay, Saku Koivu, Roman Hamrlik, and Alexei Kovalev.
Montreal Player(s) to Watch: Andrei Kostitsyn has 9 points (5g+4a) in his last five games, and his brother Sergei has a three-game scoring streak (2g+2a).
Montréal Reason to Worry: The Predators are 7-2-1 against the East this season, including a 2-0-0 mark against the Northeast. Pekka Rinne is 5-1-0 against the East, with 3 shutouts.
Montréal Injury Report
Alex Tanguay (Shoulder, Out)
Carey Price (Sprained Ankle, Doubtful)
Mathieu Dandenault (Broken Arm, Out)
Chris Higgins (Shoulder, Out)
Saku Koivu (Ankle Injury, Questionable)
Georges Laraque (Groin, Out)
Alexei Kovalev (Undisclosed Illness, Doubtful)
Montréal Projected Lineup
Pacioretty-Plekanec-S. Kostitsyn
A. Kostitsyn-Lang-D'Agostini
Latendresse-Lapierre-Kostopoulos
Begin-Chipchura-Stewart
I'm sure the Predators will want to get out of Montreal and back to Nashville as soon as possible after this game.... its -26 celsius right now (-15 farenheit)...
I'm sure the Predators will want to get out of Montreal and back to Nashville as soon as possible after this game.... its -26 celsius right now (-15 farenheit)...
Oh well...at least the game is not outside..
Well good! It will keep your players moving out on the ice so that they will not freeze from standing still...
Hopefully our boys will be able to cope with the cold because it looks like we will be without our two leading scorers Weber and Arnott for tonight's game
Tough game here tonite for the boys, with the injuries mounting and the debut potentially of the rookie dman - could lead to bad things.
Hopefully the Preds can build off the win against the Leafs and go to Bell Centre and kick the crap out of the Habitants. I hope Tootoo will be back in the lineup, to keep and eye on the Kostitsyn sisters.
BTW: what's the word on Sully? Has he had any issues off ice with soreness or anything. It's so great to see him back on the ice, and he seems to have re-energized Leggy too.
Glennon is reporting that Weber and Arnott will not dress, but Hamhuis will be available in a limited role. Trotz has even gone on record to say that Belak might see action back on defense tonight as well, but ultimately that'll come down to how Hamhuis (ankle) and Klein (food poisioning) are feeling.
Well, it should be interesting to see how effective both Hamhuis and Klein can be tonight. Sulzer will be thrown straight to the fire with probably 20+ minutes of ice time. Suter and Zanon will have to be our rocks on defense tonight.
Well, it should be interesting to see how effective both Hamhuis and Klein can be tonight. Sulzer will be thrown straight to the fire with probably 20+ minutes of ice time. Suter and Zanon will have to be our rocks on defense tonight.
Not asking him to be an offensive mainstay this evening (granted he has a career high in points and assists this season and is tied for his career high in goals currently), but asking him to play defense. That is his role and personally I think he does a pretty good job of it most nights - I'm admitting that there are exceptions.
Glennon is reporting that Weber and Arnott will not dress, but Hamhuis will be available in a limited role. Trotz has even gone on record to say that Belak might see action back on defense tonight as well, but ultimately that'll come down to how Hamhuis (ankle) and Klein (food poisioning) are feeling.
Cheers from Düsseldorf, Germany where I sit in front of my computer and can't wait to see Alexander Sulzer's NHL-debut tonight. He played three seasons for the local hockey-team here in the German Hockey League and I am sure that you will have a lot of fun with him. He is a hard worker who has quite a nice shot. I think he will have a great nhl-career.
Well, Suter is going to log about 30 minutes of ice-time. The key tonight is to roll the lines and play even strength hockey. Dumb penalties will ruin us......we simply cannot put our defensemen in PK situations tonight....
EDIT: Its a shame Weber is out. Can you imagine having Weber/Suter/Klein/Sulzer all on the blueline? All were drafted in 2003 third round (Sulzer at 90 something) or higher (Suter at 6, Klein at 37 and Weber at 49 in the second). Other players from that draft that were initially well thought of: Richard Stehlik....he couldn't make it out of the AHL and chose to go back over sees. Konstanin Glazachev - our first second round select (before Klein and Weber). He is actually having a very very good year over in Russia. We tried to sign him at one point. I wonder if he is still amiable to coming over? Grigory Shafigulin a grind it out type centerman....I still think he could make a living in the NHL as a 3/4th line guy. All indications are that he does not want to come over (a third round pick that year....a good one too). Don't forget Lassila in the fourth round and Darzins in the 7th...both were close to becoming legitimate prospects....
What a draft. I remember hoping we would pick O'Sullivan numerous times in the second round and being furious when we passed over him at 49....hah. I wouldn't mind trading in the Glazachev pick for O'Sullivan (or Bergeron), but the Weber pick was the best value pick of the entire draft.
Well, it should be interesting to see how effective both Hamhuis and Klein can be tonight. Sulzer will be thrown straight to the fire with probably 20+ minutes of ice time. Suter and Zanon will have to be our rocks on defense tonight.
You really think Trotz is gonna throw Sulzer out to the wolves like that? It's not really his style...
I was thinking more like
Suter - VK
Ham - Zanon
Klein - Sulzer
of course this all depends on how well Hammer's ankle reacts and how Klein feels throughout the game.
