Hockey is a lot to keep up with and if you’re a busy Middle Tennessean but are still a fan of the hometown Predators, we have your weekly Nashville Predators update with everything you need to know right here.
Last Week
January 16th, 2-1 win vs Calgary Flames
January 17th, 2-1 win vs Columbus Blue Jackets
January 19th, 2-5 loss @ St. Louis Blues
January 21st, 5-3 win vs LA Kings
This week had the potential to be the best week since starting these weekly updates. The Preds were given an opportunity to gain points and prevent points against three Western Conference opponents.
Up first, The Calgary Flames. Calgary, St. Louis, and Nashville are all in a three horse race for a wildcard spot right now and Nashville would get a shot at both this week. This was a good defensive game for The Predators that saw Nashville kill all four of The Flames power plays including a 3-on-four. Glass continued to play well, and Saros had 38 saves.
Starting off the week right was huge for momentum coming off three straight losses. Parssinen said as much in his post-game interview.
“It was huge. We lost three in a row and we needed this win.”
– No. 1 ⭐️ Pars told @KaraHammer after the big dub. @PredsNHL l #Smashville pic.twitter.com/592PghvHd6
— Bally Sports: Preds (@PredsOnBally) January 17, 2023
Kevin Lankinen showed up huge for The Preds Against Columbus making 39 saves in a game where Nashville was able to get an early lead and preserve it for the second straight game. Cody Glass scored for his second straight game with a laser shot. Back-to-backs had been a rollercoaster for Nashville this season, so it had to boost the morale in the locker room to get four points out of this one.
Here’s where the momentum ended in a huge tilt against The division rival Blues. Nashville was able to score first and looked like they were primed to remain hot, but a St. Louis challenge negated the goal. The Preds were then able to tie the game at 1-1, but everything after was all Blues. This is one that Nashville would love to have back. If there was a positive to be found, this was the first time Nashville allowed a power play goal since the Buffalo game and The Blues were still only 1-for-5.
Nashville’s highest paid stars for were starting to be criticized for not producing at an expected level, The momentum from the first two wins came to a screeching halt, and The Predators needed a response coming off a blown opportunity against St. Louis. Unfortunately, it would have to come against the Kings who are one of the better teams in the Western Conference. The Preds scored just 19 seconds in, just what they needed. What’s even better than that? Another goal within 20 seconds. Nashville was up 2-0 and would have to withstand an entire game of urgency from LA. The Kings would go on to score three unanswered goals to take a 3-2 lead, and Nashville, once again, was going to have to respond. Respond they did, as The Preds rattled off three unanswered goals of their own to win 5-3. After a week of calling out the big names on the roster they showed up against LA with goals from Johansen, Granlund, and Duchene(2).
Nashville now sits at 22-18-6 with 50 points. They are sitting at 20th in the NHL, 10th in the Western Conference, and 5th in the Central Division.
This Week
January 24th, at 7:00, vs Winnipeg Jets (NHLPP|ESPN+|Bally)
January 26th, at 7:00 vs New Jersey Devils (NHLPP|ESPN+|Bally)
A welcome light week for a fatigued Nashville team before an even more rejuvenating All-Star Break. If The Preds can play some combination of the way they did last week, while avoiding performances like the Blues game, they can continue to be right in the heat of the playoff race. After Nashville takes on The Devils their next game will be February 7th against Vegas for a big in-conference matchup.
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