Nashville Predators hosts Colorado Avalanche on Saturday in both teams’ first match since a two -week break, but the clubs are watching the last two months of the season in very different ways.
The predators started the season with high hopes for the season after signing several veterans, including twice the Stanley Cup winner Steven Stamkos, during the summer. Instead of fighting at the Western conference, however, the predators are 18 points behind the Vancouver Canucks for the last wild card of the conference.
Nashville General Manager Barry Trotz told Tennessean on Friday that he has already called teams to discuss offers that would return drafts of elections and prospects for the NHL trading deadline on March 7.
Before the NHL’s regular season was paused for the facials of the four nations, Nashville won his last match, a 6-4 triumph over the visiting Buffelsabers on February 8. However, the predators lost sex straight before that to bury them in position.
“The season was only discovered on us, and we couldn’t get it back on the rails,” Trotz told Nashville magazine.
The beginning of the unofficial second half of the season also did not start a good start for the predators, which announced Friday that defender Adam Wilsby would miss the rest of the season with an upper body injury. The team put the Swedish beginner and the first year ahead Zachary L’Heureux on damaged reserve. L’Heureux, which also has an upper body disease, is considered a week to week.
Despite the predators’ struggle this season, the team still had several representatives who played during the mid -season event. Forward Filip Forsberg, who leads the team with 53 points, played in all three of Sweden’s games, as well as forward Gustav Nyquist, which scored a goal for the national team.
Nashville goalkeeper Juuse Saros, whose 23 losses leads the NHL, played in two matches for Finland. He registered a 3.96 target-on-average and a .870 savings percentage.
Colorado returns to the ice in possession of the first Western Conference Wild card site with 68 points. Avalanche is only two points back by Minnesota Wild for third place in the Central Division.
A trio of lava skates played key roles for 4 nations winner Canada. Nathan McKinnon, whose 66 assists and 87 points lead the NHL, scored a tournament with four goals in Canada’s four matches. Defender Cale spouses and Devin Toews also helped the Canadians win the Thursday finals.
Spouses’ lonely assists in the tournament came on Connor McDavid’s golden goal in overtime.
While the trio was busy over the past two weeks, many of their teammates received a chance to rest and charge over the break. Coach Jared Bednar had exercises Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and he told Colorado Hockey now that he was particularly pleased with the Friday session because of the enthusiasm that the players showed.
Before the tournament, Avalanche won four of its last five matches. McKinnon scored one goal and registered three assists while spouses added two goals and one assist in Colorado’s 5-4 road victory over Edmonton Oilers on February 7.
“So it’s a good sign that comes in this week, and hopefully we will continue to play with that energy and enthusiasm here to go to Nashville,” Bednar said.
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