About the Predators - 03-22-12
A preview of the Predators.
When and where: 7 p.m. EDT; Consol Energy Center.
TV: Root Sports, Fox Sports Tennessee, NHL Network (United States, outside the Pittsburgh and Nashville markets).
Record: 42-32-8, 92 points. The Predators are in fifth place in the Western Conference and third place in the Central Division.
Leading Scorer: Martin Erat, 57 points (18 goals, 39 assists).
Last Game: 6-3 home loss to the Oilers, Tuesday. David Legwand scored two goals for the Predators.
Predators Game against the Penguins: 4-3 home overtime loss, Oct. 21, 2010. Sidney Crosby had two goals and an assist for the Penguins.
Predators Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Shea Weber. He has four points in four career games against the Penguins.
Ex-Penguins on the Predators: Hal Gill, D.
Ex-Predators on the Penguins: Tom Fitzgerald, assistant to the general manager; Ray Shero, general manager; Steve Sullivan, LW.
Useless Predators Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Predators left winger Alexander Radulov (above) is one of three Russian-born player selected in the first round of the 2004 draft. The others were Capitals left winger Alex Ovechkin and Penguins center Evgeni Malkin.
Best Predators Video We Could Find: Weber is really good at shooting from the point:
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Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (39-14-4, 2.26 GAA, .916 SV%) for the Penguins and Pekka Rinne (39-15-8, 2.41 GAA, .923 SV%) for the Predators.
Injuries: For the Penguins, center Joe Vitale ("upper body") is questionable. Goaltender Brent Johnson (undisclosed) is day to day. For the Predators, center Paul Gaustad ("upper body") is day to day. Defenseman Roman Jose ("upper body") and center Colin Wilson ("lower body") are out.
-Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins had an optional skate the past two days. Their primary lines and defensive pairings against the Jets Tuesday were:
Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Steve Sullivan - Jordan Staal - Pascal Dupuis
Matt Cooke - Sidney Crosby - Tyler Kennedy
Eric Tangradi - Craig Adams - Arron Asham
Kris Letang - Paul Martin
Brooks Orpik - Zbynek Michalek
Matt Niskanen - Deryk Engelland
-The Predators had an optional skate this morning. Based on the return of Radulov, consider this a guess at their lines and defensive pairings:
Alexander Radulov - David Legwand - Patric Hornqvist
Sergei Kostitsyn - Mike Fisher - Martin Erat
Andrei Kostitsyn - Nick Spaling - Jordin Tootoo
Brandon Yip - Craig Smith - Matt Halischuk
Ryan Suter - Shea Weber
Jack Hillen - Hal Gill
Francis Bouillon - Kevin Klein
Notes:
-The last time the Penguins played the Predators, this happened:
-Orpik has 98 career assists.
-Dupuis has a seven-game scoring streak.
-"I have to do things for the team to win. That’s the main thing, that’s my goal." - Radulov on playing his first game for the Predator since 2008.
-The Penguins will be wearing their blue mish-mash Frankenstein jerseys for the final time this season.
-The Penguins will be wearing No. 3 stickers on their helmets tonight in honor of former Predators defenseman Wade Belak who died this past summer. (PG+)
-The Penguins need a point to clinch a playoff berth tonight.
-Our live blog begins at approximately 6 p.m. Please tune in.
(Photo: Claus Andersen/Getty Images)