Devils at Predators
The Nashville Predators finally look to have their power play on track, and that should strike fear into the hearts of the 29 other NHL teams. The Predators hope to continue their recent success with the man advantage - and extend their winning streak to five games - as they entertain the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. Nashville converted twice on the power play in Thursday's 3-1 win over Winnipeg, while New Jersey is coming off a 3-1 loss to Chicago on Friday.
The Predators are already the class of the NHL, but have middled on special teams for most of the season. Nashville has broken out of its power play doldrums in February, going 7-for-24 in seven games - and posting a 6-1-0 record over that span. That success may continue Saturday, as the Devils have struggled to contain opposing power plays (ranking 25th at 78.4 percent) and have allowed four man-advantage goals in their last four games.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, MSG-Plus2 (New Jersey), Fox Sports Tennessee (Nashville)
ABOUT THE DEVILS (21-25-9): Making a mess of the penalty kill wouldn't be so bad if New Jersey was generating offense, but the Devils haven't done much of that - having scored just four goals in their last three games. The New Jersey power play has been dormant, going 0-for-8 this month and converting just once in the team's last eight outings. It wasn't immediately clear who would start in goal, after Cory Schneider got the call for a league-high 47th time this season in the loss to the Blackhawks.
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (37-12-6): Nashville may have yet another excuse for opposing teams to be concerned - the Predators are prepared to make moves designed to strengthen the roster heading into the March 2 trade deadline. "I've done it in the past," general manager David Poile told The Tennessean. "But it's painful. Only one team ends up winning it all. So ... if you win the Stanley Cup or you win some playoff rounds, it doesn't matter whether you gave up the first pick or a lot of your picks. But when you lose out in the first round, it's like, 'Really?'"
OVERTIME
1. The teams have split their last 10 meetings, with five of those decided in extra time.
2. New Jersey has lost four straight games against Central Division opponents.
3. Schneider has allowed six goals on 38 shots in his career against Nashville.