The schedule is the biggest storyline. Nashville plays in Pittsburgh on Saturday and flies home for a 7:00 PM CT puck drop the next night. Colorado played Friday at Ball Arena and has Saturday off. Whatever happens against the Penguins, the Predators' legs and their choice in net will be decided there, and their form numbers will change before this one starts.
As of Saturday morning, Nashville has 1 win in its last 5, and the Bruins game was the low point. Boston scored 2 in every period, Jeremy Swayman got the shutout, and even Roman Josi couldn't get anything going. The scoring has been the problem all month. The Predators have scored 2 goals or fewer in 4 of those 5 games, and the 5-2 win over St. Louis is the outlier. The club's own read after 8 games was 'far from satisfied.' They had points in 6 of 8 games but only 3 wins, which keeps them in the Central mix without proving much.
Josi is still producing at 36. He had 1 goal and 8 assists through 8 games and has been the engine of whatever offense Nashville has. Mavrik Bourque is back after missing 4 games, and Jayden Struble came over from Montreal to add depth on the blue line. A team that keeps losing 3-2 needs secondary scoring, and it has to come from Bourque and the forwards behind Josi.
For Colorado, the job is to keep doing what worked against Tampa Bay: score early and make the other team chase. An early lead on a tired Nashville team that has trouble scoring is a hard hole to get out of. The Predators need a fast start at home, a goaltender who can steal a night, and Josi creating more chances than a short-handed Colorado center group can stop.