The Nashville Predators may have lost more than the game Saturday afternoon against the Ottawa Senators. Defensemen Jeremy Lauzon and Alexandre Carrier each left the game and did not return for the third period. Head coach John Hynes did not have any additional information immediately after the game on either player, but the Preds tweeted an update this afternoon (Lauzon is day-to-day, Carrier week-to-week) while announcing they have recalled defensemen Kevin Gravel and Roland McKeown from Milwaukee.
The Predators' forward roster will be missing two players this evening as well. Michael McCarron has entered the NHLPA's Player Assistance Program and is stepping away from the ice. Yesterday the Predators placed Eeli Tolvanen on waivers, and this afternoon Tovlanen was picked up by Seattle. Tonight's roster announcement will generate a great deal of discussion among Preds' fans.
The Predators had been building a bit of momentum in recent weeks, going 6-3-1 in their last ten games, but the team has struggled with consistency. Scoring, execution, and play through a full sixty minutes have been inconsistent. The top five goal scorers (Niederreiter, Forsberg, Johansen, Josi, and Duchene) have only netted seven goals in the last five games, and the Predators rank near the bottom of the league in scoring.
Penalties have cost Nashville in their last two losses, and tonight they are facing a Blues team with a 22.4% power play success rate, so the Preds will need to stay out of the box yet again. Conversely, there could be an opportunity for Nashville's power play to get back on track as the Blues have the worst penalty kill in the league so far this season. John Hynes liked the looks and movement from the power play against Ottawa Saturday, but tonight the Preds will need to finish if they earn a man advantage.
The Blues' line of Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, and Vladimir Terasenko have combined for 24 goals and 68 points, while Ryan O'Reilly has 9 goals and Brayden Schenn has 6. The Blues are dealing with some injury issues of their own that will affect their lineup. Pavel Buchnevich will miss tonight's game after an injury last week while defensemen Scott Purunovich and Marco Scandella remain sidelined.
Tonight will be St. Louis' second game in a back to back. Sunday they lost to the Colorado Avalanche in overtime. The Preds are likely to see Thomas Griess get the start in net for the Blues.
The Blues and Preds both need points to climb in the current and somewhat surprising Central Division standings. Entering tonight's game, the Blues have 25 points 28 games while the Predators have 26 points in 25 games.
Tonight's game at the Enterprise Center starts at 7:00 pm CST. Bally Sports South will broadcast the game while 102.5 The Game will have the radio call locally.
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