Preds Prey: Weekly Preview 12/3/17-12/9/17

The Nashville Predators look to carry over their red hot play from the month of November, where they went 10-3-1, into December.

The Preds will play two games at home this week and another one on the road. Nashville will start their week off by taking on the Boston Bruins, who are playing better of late and have gotten some key injured players back into the lineup. On Tuesday night, the Preds will play the second game of a back-to-back set in Dallas against the Stars, who are on a winning streak of their own. It will be a big chance for Nashville to pick up two big points within the division. The Predators will end their week by facing the Golden Knights, who have been a surprise in the early going, at home.

Nashville will need to have a good game at even strength since the special teams of the Bruins have been decent so far. The Preds will need to stop the top line of the Bruins, especially David Pastrnak, who leads the team in goals and points. The Predators are going to need to be good with the puck and avoid turnovers and costly mistakes, which the Bruins can force a team into making. Nashville will need to have a good game from the goalie, Pekka Rinne since the Bruins will get their chances. The Preds will need to keep an eye on Charlie McAvoy and Torey Krug since they both like to jump into the offensive zone, and can set up teammates.

The Bruins will need to keep the play of good special teams going in this game since the Predators can put the puck in the net on the power play. Boston will need to keep a eye of Filip Forsberg, who leads the team in goals and points. The Bruins will want to have the lead entering the final frame of the game since they have only gained a point in one of the eight games when trailing after the second period. Boston will need to get the first goal of the game and take the raucous Nashville crowd out of the game. The Bruins are going to need to play a solid, 60 minute road game and bring the team defense.

On Tuesday night, the Predators have a chance to gain two big points in the Central Division. Nashville will need to have the lead entering the third period since they have yet to win a game when trailing going into the third period. The Preds will need to get it together on the power play since they are only converting 12.5% of its opportunities while away from home. Nashville is going to have to rely on team defense meaning the forwards and goalie will also have to be good. The Predators will need to keep a eye on defenseman John Klingberg, who leads the team in assists.

Dallas will need to stop the balanced attack of the Predators and a good way to do that is to get the forecheck going early to get some sustained offensive zone time. The Stars will need to watch Nashville's defensemen as they like to join the play on the rush or even lead the rush into the offensive zone. The Stars are going to need to stay out of the penalty box, and get a good game from the starting goaltending. Dallas will want to get the first goal of the game, and avoid the turnovers in the neutral zone since the Preds have some speed in the transition game.

The Preds finish off their week with a game against the Golden Knights. Nashville will need to keep an eye on the red hot William Karlsson, who leads Vegas in goals and points. The Predators will need to play a consistent game for 60 minutes and not slack off once they have the lead or in the final period of the game where they have been outscored 33-22 so far on the year. The Preds will need to have a lead entering the third period. The special teams of the Predators will need to be good, as will the goaltending to have a chance at winning the game. Nashville needs to be better at even strength especially since the Golden Knights are decent at even strength play themselves this year.

Vegas will need to have a good game from their starting goaltender, whomever that may be by the time the puck drops on Friday night. The Golden Knights will need to be aware of the transition speed of the Preds. Vegas needs to have a better third period since Nashville has also been struggling to finish games. The Golden Knights need to avoid turnovers and mistakes with the puck since Nashville can make one pay for turnovers. Vegas is going to need to be aware of where Forsberg is when he is on the ice.

Shooting Stars: Weekly Preview 12/3/17-12/9/17

The Dallas Stars will look to keep the momentum going coming off of a 3-2 shootout win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night.

The Stars have an opportunity to pick up some important points within the Division since they play three divisional games this week. On Sunday night, they will travel to Colorado to take on the Avalanche. They will take on the red hot Nashville Predators on Tuesday night, and then travel to St. Louis for a match up against the first place Blues. They will finish up their week at home against the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Stars will need to make sure that they know where Nathan MacKinnon is at all times when he is on the ice since he leads the Avalanche in assists and points. Dallas needs to have a big game from Kari Lehtonen, who needs to make saves and not allow any soft goals. The Stars also need to take advantage of the weak penalty kill of Colorado even though the Avalanche are very good at killing penalties at home (~90%). Dallas will need to make sure that they have the lead after the second period since they have yet to have any third period comebacks. The Stars will need to finish the game better than they have all season, and play really good defense since they have been outscored 29-17 in third periods this year.

Colorado need to play a full 60 minute game since they tend to have trouble containing teams in the second period, where they have been outscored 34-26. The Avalanche need to make sure that they have a lead after two periods since they have only gotten points in two games when trailing entering the third period this year. The Avs need to stay out of the penalty box since their overall penalty kill hasn't been great despite its success at home, and the Stars power play can be lethal at times. Colorado will need to contain the top line of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov if they want to have any chance at winning or keeping the game close. The Avalanche will also need to keep an eye on John Klingberg when he is on the ice because the defenseman like to join the play in the offensive zone, and leads the Stars in assists this year.

Dallas returns home on Tuesday night to take on the defending Western Conference Champions, Nashville Predators, who are coming off of a red hot month of November. The Stars will need to play a solid defensive game and keep the balanced attack of the Preds off balance. Dallas will need to be aware of the Predators defensemen, who like to join the play in the offensive zone, and even rush the puck up the ice. The Stars need to play a discipline game since the Preds have one of the best power plays in the League. Dallas will need a big game from either Ben Bishop or Kari Lehtonen since the Preds offense has been clicking lately. The Stars will also want to get the first goal of the game to keep the home crowd in the game.

Nashville will want to keep the balanced attack coming against the Stars, since Dallas can also put the puck in the net. The Predators will need to have a lead entering the final frame since they don't have a third period come-from-behind win in five tries. The Preds will need to have a better start to the game and bring the energy from the drop of the puck. Nashville will also need to get its power play going on the road since they have only six power play goals in 48 opportunities so far. The Predators will need to have a big game from the goaltending since the Stars can put the puck in the net, and keep coming even when down.

The Stars will play their third straight divisional game on Thursday night when they visit the St. Louis Blues. Dallas will need to get the forecheck game going early to keep the offensive attack going and the Blues in their own end, defending. The Stars will need to keep an eye on Brayden Schenn and Jaden Schwartz, who are the two leading point producers on the team, and just happen to play on the same line. Dallas will need to take advantage of their power play opportunities since the Blues penalty kill at home is under 80%. The Stars will need to make sure that they play a solid team defensive game including the defensemen, forwards and goalie. They will want to avoid the turnovers and take care of the puck since the Blues will force the opposition to turn the puck over.

St. Louis will be bringing their physical game, but they need to be discipline while bringing that physical game. The Blues will need to force some turnovers especially in the offensive and neutral zones. St. Louis will need to keep an eye on Seguin and Radulov, who are putting decent offensive numbers while playing together. The Blues will need to get a good game from the goaltending and not allow any soft goals. St. Louis wants to get the first goal of the game to keep the crowd fully involved in the game.

The Stars end their week with a non-divisional game against the Vegas Golden Knights. Dallas will need to keep an eye on William Karlsson, who is red hot and the leading goal scorer and point producer on Vegas. The Stars will need to get another good game from their goaltending since the Golden Knights have a balanced lineup that can get pucks on net. Dallas will need to take full advantage of playing at home since they haven't been great on the road this year. They need to get the first goal and keep attacking, don't sit back and try to hold onto the lead or they will get burned by the Golden Knights.

The Golden Knights will need to the goaltending to come up big for them since the Stars can put the puck in the net. Vegas will need to be better closing out the game since they have been outscored 36-27 in the third periods of games this year. The Golden Knights should know where Jamie Benn is on the ice at all times. Vegas need to stay out of the penalty box because they don't do a good job killing penalties, and the Stars have a dangerous power play. The Golden Knights need to play a solid, 60 minute road game and limit the chances of the Stars.