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Vegas Golden Knights at Nashville Predators

Tue Oct 137:45 PM CTESPN+Nashville, TN
By JR·2 min read
Golden Knights(5-1-0)
Predators(2-1-2)
Tuesday 10/137:45 PM

TLDR: Nashville keeps building leads and handing them back. Vegas comes to Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday with a schedule that won't do it any favors, and it still has games to play before this one.

WED 10/14, 7:45 PMESPN+
Golden Knights
(5-1-0)
WWWWL
Predators
(2-1-2)
LWLWL

Vegas visits Nashville on Tuesday, October 13, and it plays Minnesota the night before, so the Golden Knights will be on the second half of a back-to-back against a rested home team. The Predators are 2-1-2 and have blown multi-goal leads in both overtime losses. Vegas had won 3 straight as of its comeback shootout win over Toronto but is without Victor Olofsson. The game likely comes down to whether Nashville can close out a lead against a tired Vegas team and whoever Vegas starts in goal.

Vegas Golden Knights
  • Eichel driving it: penalty-shot goal, 700 career points
  • Came back from 3 down to beat Toronto in a shootout
  • Second night of a back-to-back after Minnesota
  • Olofsson, the hot early scorer, out week-to-week
Nashville Predators
  • Rested at home while Vegas plays the night before
  • Scored 5 straight to come back on Montreal
  • Blew 2-0 and 3-0 leads in overtime losses
  • Bourque out, Annunen on IR thins goalie depth

Nashville's problem so far is simple: the Predators get ahead and then stop scoring. In Ottawa they led 2-0 after the 1st period, never scored again, and lost 3-2 in overtime to a Senators team missing Jake Sanderson, Cameron Crotty and Artem Zub off its blue line. In Toronto they blew a 3-0 lead and lost 5-4 in overtime. That's 2 overtime losses where Nashville had control of the game, and it's why a 2-1-2 team feels worse than its record.

Vegas is the opposite story right now. The Golden Knights came back from 3 goals down to beat Toronto in a shootout, with Jack Eichel scoring on a penalty shot and adding an assist, and that made it 3 straight wins and a 4-1-0 record as of that game. Eichel also passed 700 career points this month. Not all of it is good news, though. Victor Olofsson, who had 4 goals and 1 assist in his first 4 games, is week-to-week with an undisclosed injury, and Raphael Lavoie has only just been cleared for his season debut.

Vegas also has to get through a couple of games before it reaches Nashville. The Golden Knights' schedule has the Kings at home on October 10 and then a Monday game in Minnesota, so they arrive on the second night of a back-to-back. Nashville's last game was in Ottawa on October 10, which means the Predators get a couple of days off at home after a Canadian road trip. How Vegas handles the Wild, and who ends up in its net on Tuesday, will shape this game more than any streak will.

Vegas Golden Knights
(5-1-0)
10/11WvsKings2-1
10/09WvsMaple Leafs4-3
10/07W@Kraken6-2
10/05W@Canucks3-2
10/03LvsDucks3-4
Nashville Predators
(2-1-2)
10/10L@Senators2-3
10/08W@Canadiens5-2
10/06L@Maple Leafs4-5
10/04WvsStars2-1
10/02LvsWild1-3

Nashville has shown it can score. The Predators trailed Montreal 2-0 and then scored 5 straight to win 5-2. They also beat Dallas 2-1 at home. What they haven't shown is that they can protect a lead for 60 minutes. The front office made a move on the blue line by trading with Montreal for Jayden Struble, and how quickly he fits in is worth watching against a Vegas forward group that just scored 3 unanswered against Toronto.

Both teams are missing someone who matters. Nashville is without center Mavrik Bourque, and goalie Justus Annunen is on injured reserve, so there's less goaltending depth behind the starter. Vegas is down Olofsson, its hottest scorer early on. Puck drop is 7:45 PM CT on Tuesday, October 13. If the Predators can hold onto a lead this time against a tired opponent, Tuesday is a good chance to stop letting points slip away.

Vegas Golden Knights at Nashville Predators — Golden Knights Bring a Back-to-Back Into Bridgestone Arena | Polymarket Odds · Barstool Bush