Nathan MacKinnon (3 G, 16 A) is off to another torrid start, as is Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar (16 and 13 points, respectively.) And if this wasn’t already an “eat the rich” situation, the goaltending - perhaps the team’s lone question mark last year - has been outstanding thanks to the addition of Alexandar Georgiev, whose gone 6-1-1 with a. Nichushkin skated during pregame warmups in Finland before ultimately being scratched, so it would seem like a likely bet he’ll be good to go by the time the puck drops Thursday.Įven if Nichushkin’s not 100%, fear not, Avs fans. The Avs should get a big boost in the likely return of Valeri Nichushkin, who tallied 7 goals and 12 points in his first seven games before being sidelined by a lower-body injury. But prior to those contests, the Avs had (by their standards) started a bit slow, with losses to the Kraken, Islanders, Jets, and Devils on the record this season. Colorado demolished the Blue Jackets in both games.
#Predators home schedule 2021 22 series#
Thursday’s game will be the Avs’ first in North America since returning from a two-game series in Finland. (Or, depending on what type of fan you are, the first chance to be absolutely destroyed by the Avalanche.)
Thursday, November 10 - at Colorado AvalancheĪh yes, the first chance of the season for some revenge against the team that embarrassed Nashville in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last year. This probably isn’t a game the Preds will want to overlook, especially given their less-than-stellar record against Seattle last season. Despite just turning 20 years old, Beniers plays with the hockey IQ of a seasoned vet. Right behind them is one of the NHL’s most exciting blue-chip players, Matty Beniers, who has 5 goals and 4 assists this year. A couple of familiar Central Division foes are pacing Seattle in scoring, with reigning Cup-winner Andre Burakovsky and long-time Blue Jaden Schwartz tied for the team lead with 10 points. As a team, the Kraken have the league’s ninth-best scoring offense at 3.46 goals per game. On top of that, their underlying numbers are actually fairly solid (51.7% CF% and 52.61 xGF%.) No one’s calling the Kraken a Stanley Cup contender in their second season, but you also can’t wave off their solid start as “just a lucky first month” either.Ī big factor in Seattle’s success has been an uptick in scoring. That’s why it was somewhat surprising to check the standings and see they’re actually 7-4-2 and currently second in the Pacific Division. The Kraken were predicted to be very bad this season, and the consensus from some of the national pundits thus far is that Seattle indeed hasn’t looked great. While the style of play probably won’t quiet questions about this team’s long-term prospects, if the Preds manage to finish this road trip with another win in either of the final two games, it’ll be hard not to see this trip as an overall win.
But hey - as Jason Calacanis once said, “no one remembers how you got there, only that you got there.” The bottom line is the Preds have four out of a possible six points halfway through this Western road trip. The Preds have managed to pull out two straight wins one being a fairly convincing 4-1 victory over the Calgary Flames, the other an absolutely bonkers 4-3 shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks. Are the Nashville Predators an entertaining hockey team? Yes - in the same way watching a demolition derby where every car is on fire is entertaining. The Preds have a chance to exorcise plenty of 2021-22 demons this week.Īre the Nashville Predators a good hockey team? That still remains to be seen.
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