The Canes return to the ice and open a back to back in Nashville.
Special teams were all that went right last Saturday. The power play went 2 for 4, bringing the month’s conversions to 33.3%. The Canes are now 8th in the league on the PP. The penalty kill was perfect again, killing all 3 Isles chances. The PK has allowed 1 goal all month and has also moved into the top 10. But defensive breakdowns and a couple of softies from Kochetkov gave the Isles a 6-5 win. RBA said after the game that maybe he was overworking Kochetkov but, with Andersen on the shelf and Raanta in Chicago, he had no alternative. Raanta was recalled after playing 2 games for the Wolves going 1-0-1 with a 2.90/.875 stat line. Hopefully he got his confidence back. I’d still expect Kochetkov tonight with Raanta going tomorrow.
The Preds are 7-3 in their last 10, including a 6-5 shootout win at PNC on 12/15. They’re 4th in the Central with 38 points in 34 games. Filip Forsberg leads with 16 goals and 22 assists, averaging 1.12 points per game. Ryan O’Reilly and Roman Josi have nearly half their points on the PP. In goal, Juuse Saros is having an off season, he’s at 2.82/.909 in 27 games, both worse than his career numbers. He’s backed up by Kevin Lankinen. The Preds are 16th in goals per game and 13th in goals against. They’re 17th on the PP and 25th on the PK.
Bally Sports South for TV.
Special teams were all that went right last Saturday. The power play went 2 for 4, bringing the month’s conversions to 33.3%. The Canes are now 8th in the league on the PP. The penalty kill was perfect again, killing all 3 Isles chances. The PK has allowed 1 goal all month and has also moved into the top 10. But defensive breakdowns and a couple of softies from Kochetkov gave the Isles a 6-5 win. RBA said after the game that maybe he was overworking Kochetkov but, with Andersen on the shelf and Raanta in Chicago, he had no alternative. Raanta was recalled after playing 2 games for the Wolves going 1-0-1 with a 2.90/.875 stat line. Hopefully he got his confidence back. I’d still expect Kochetkov tonight with Raanta going tomorrow.
The Preds are 7-3 in their last 10, including a 6-5 shootout win at PNC on 12/15. They’re 4th in the Central with 38 points in 34 games. Filip Forsberg leads with 16 goals and 22 assists, averaging 1.12 points per game. Ryan O’Reilly and Roman Josi have nearly half their points on the PP. In goal, Juuse Saros is having an off season, he’s at 2.82/.909 in 27 games, both worse than his career numbers. He’s backed up by Kevin Lankinen. The Preds are 16th in goals per game and 13th in goals against. They’re 17th on the PP and 25th on the PK.
Bally Sports South for TV.