LGD: No More Hot Dogs, Much More Mustard
8 years ago
Some might say that the Nashville Predators are the reason that the Toronto Maple Leafs are who they are right now. Their blowout win over the blue and white last November created a downward spiral of catastrophe for a team that really didn’t have too much expectation placed on it to begin with, and ever since, things have been bottomed out for the sake of being built back up.
With that said, fans still don’t want to see another seven-goal defeat, and neither does the team. Let’s take a look at what’s going down tonight.
The Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs lines via Daily Faceoff
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 James van Riemsdyk |  Nazem Kadri |  Leo Komarov |
 Shawn Matthias |  Tyler Bozak |  P.A. Parenteau |
 Daniel Winnik |  Nick Spaling |  Joffrey Lupul |
 Michael Grabner |  Byron Froese |  Peter Holland |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Jake Gardiner |  Dion Phaneuf |
 Matt Hunwick |  Morgan Rielly |
 Scott Harrington |  Roman Polak |
Bobby Cappucino didn’t like these lines and got the roast of a lifetime for it. Personally, I’m just wondering what the heck Frank Corrado has to do to get back into an NHL lineup. He’s better than guys than the Canucks picked over him, and he’s certainly better than Roman Polak. Does the NHL have a Woodbridge bias? Did they serve expired Brio at a GMs meeting?
The Predators
Nashville Predators lines via Daily Faceoff
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Filip Forsberg |  Mike Fisher |  James Neal |
 Colin Wilson |  Mike Ribeiro |  Craig Smith |
 Miikka Salomaki |  Calle Jarnkrok |  Cody Hodgson |
 Gabriel Bourque |  Colton Sissons |  Austin Watson |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Roman Josi |  Shea Weber |
 Barret Jackman |  Seth Jones |
 Mattias Ekholm |  Ryan Ellis |
Everybody on this roster who was signed by not Paul Holmgren (sorry Weber offer sheet) makes a combined total of nineteen dollars. I’m not sure if I’m more amused by Mike Fisher being a first liner or Cody Hodgson being a right winger but hey, if it works in Tennessee..
Starting Goaltenders
James Reimer will start in his sixth consecutive game tonight. Jonathan Bernier is back on the bench, but he’s still recovering from his injury; not to mention, Reimer is putting on a show of late. In his last five starts, he’s had a whopping 0.941 save percentage to bring him up to a respectable 0.918 on the season. Nashville is a pretty middle of the pack team in terms of 5-on-5 shooting percentage at the moment, so he’s not up against a massive challenge if the Leafs stay disciplined.
In goal for Nashville is Pekka Rinne. Rinne is consistently inconsistent, rarely able to string together a multi-year stretch of top level hockey. This year, he’s starting off the year at a 0.910 through twelve games, though he’s also picked up 18 of a possible 24 points with his 8-2-2 record.
What To Watch For
- Nazem Kadri has a good history against the Predators. He’s four days away from the 5-year anniversary of his first NHL point, which was earned against them. As well, he’s got five points in five games against them in his career, joining Morgan Rielly and PA Parenteau in the point-per-pred club.
- Toronto has ended regulation with a score that doesn’t reflect a loss in four of their past five games. Maybe that means something, or maybe it doesn’t. The Preds, on the other hand, have just one regulation loss at home this year.
- Filip Forsberg is really good, and the part of me that wants Alex Ovechkin to win a cup one day is not
- We all like to talk up James van Riemsdyk’s sick contract, but have you seen Roman Josi? He’s become one of the league’s elite defenders and makes $4 million a season until the apocalypse.
- GOLD HELMETS! Actually, I think those are only on certain days. Uhh.. GOLD JERSEYS!
The puck drops at 8 PM, and you can catch this game on TSN.
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