These pre-game posts are becoming a regularity... I like it!
Rangers at the Nashville Predators.
Nashville has been getting the worst of the traffic jam in the standings of the Western Conference. They have posted a record of 9-8-4 and sit at 13th in their conference. There problems however stem from the same problems that plague the Panthers: a lack of consistent scoring. Steve Sullivan leads the Predators with 6 goals, and Cal O'Reilly leads the team with 13 points. However, his 13 points come from nine assists and four goals. The Predators are minus 8 in the goals for/goals against ratio, which hasn't provided enough of a cushion for Pekka Rinne, who has a fairly decent save percentage of .911.
The Rangers were absurdly out shot last night at 40-19, which means their young defense is going to have to be one their toes once again. With a lot more threats on this team than Florida has, there is much less room for error tonight. Therefore, if the Rangers can play smart hockey, convert when they get the chance, and shut down the threats of Nashville, the boys in blue can walk out of Nashville victorious.
My Diagnosis
Like last night, all the Rangers need to do is snub out Nashville's top players in Steve Sullivan, Patric Hornqvist and Cal O'Reilly, and they can easily come away with this one. While Nashville can be dangerous at times, the Rangers have way more weapons than the Predators do. It seems as though the young guns or unsung heroes throughout the past few years are finally coming into their own and producing when the Rangers need it most. Also, with Nashville missing two key players in Matthew Lombardi and David Legwand, it will be a lot harder for them to gain some momentum without them.
My Predictions
Rangers win 2-1
Artem Anisimov and Brandon Dubinsky will have the Rangers goals.
JP Dumont will have the lone goal for the Predators early in the third.
I was fairly close on the score last night, so hopefully I can get inside the ballpark on this call tonight. Enjoy the game!
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