Predators at Wild
THE STORY: The Nashville Predators may have been the only
team in the league that didn’t welcome the arrival of the All-Star
break. The red-hot Predators, winners of four straight and nine of their
last 10, will look to continue their momentum when they visit the
Minnesota Wild on Tuesday. The sizzling stretch has vaulted Nashville
within three points of league-leading Detroit. Unfortunately for the
Predators, five teams in the Western Conference have between 64 and 67
points – and four of them are bunched in the hotly contested Central
Division. “There's a lot of good things happening with our team,”
Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. “There's something special
developing.” The Wild shared similar sentiments after a six-game winning
streak gave them the league’s best record on Dec. 10. That was followed
by a dreadful stretch in which Minnesota lost 15 of 17, including 11
straight on the road. Winning the final two before the All-Star break
lifted the Wild to the No. 8 spot in the West.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Tennessee (Nashville), FS North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (30-16-4):
Goaltender Pekka Rinne has been brilliant during Nashville’s torrid
stretch, winning a franchise- and career-best nine straight. He has
permitted only 12 goals during the winning streak and 21 while going
12-1 in his last 13 starts. Rinne also has the luxury of playing being a
pair of All-Star defensemen in Shea Weber and Ryan Suter. Center Mike
Fisher has four goals during a four-game points streak and 12 points in
his last 10 games.
ABOUT THE WILD (24-18-7): Minnesota
avoided matching a franchise-record 12 straight road losses with a 3-2
victory at Colorado in its final game before the All-Star break. That
came on the heels of a 5-2 win over Dallas in which prime offseason
acquisitions Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi made rare impacts. It was
Setoguchi’s second multi-point game of the season. Heatley has scored in
his last two, and his three-point effort against Dallas was his second
multi-point game since Nov. 8.
OVERTIME:
1.
Nashville is 4-1 against Minnesota in the last five meetings, holding
the Wild to a total of three goals in the four victories.
2. Rinne, who has started 45 of 50 games, was named the league’s Second Star of the Week on Monday.