Nashville Predators in for tough time as they face Pittsburgh Penguins at home - NHL Preview
Nashville Predators face a tough road trip to Pittsburgh as they face the inform Penguins on Thursday, March 22, 2012 at the CONSOL Energy Center.
The Penguins are currently on a brilliant run of form winning 12 of their last 13 games which has put them in the top four of the Eastern Conference.
Pittsburgh have also regained captain and talisman Sidney Crosby from injury and the forward has delivered brilliant performances since coming back.
The Penguins are currently fourth in the Eastern Conference with 96-points.
Nashville on the other hand have won just a single game out of their last four.
The Predators though will welcome back forward Alexander Radulov after four seasons to the roster and hope that he can power the team over the Penguins.
Nashville are currently fifth in the Western Conference with 92-points.
Penguins (45-21-6, 96 pts)
Pittsburgh are currently one of the best teams in the National Hockey League (NHL) and are now within striking distance of the Eastern Conference leaders New York Rangers.
The Penguins trail New York by just three points and could move to within a point with a win at home against the Predators.
Pittsburgh’s 11-game winning run ended on Sunday against Philadelphia Flyers but the team bounced right back from the overtime defeat on Tuesday with an 8-4 pounding of Winnipeg Jets.
Crosby made four assists during the win while forward Evgeni Malkin who has confirmed his status as the best forward in the league contributed with a brilliant brace.
Coach Dan Bylsma was pleased with the easy victory and said.
"There were some nice hockey plays out there. There's some of that tape you see in some highlight videos."
Predators (42-23-8, 92 pts)
Nashville have struggled for results recently but remain just a point behind fourth placed Detroit Red Wings and could capture the home ice advantage with a win on Thursday.
The Predators though put in one of their poorer performances on Tuesday as they were comprehensively defeated 6-3 against the Edmonton Oilers.
Coach Barry Trotz, though, praised the team’s efforts but said that luck and bounces were not on his team’s side.
"I think we didn't lose focus. Our guys understood the situation and they played hard.
"I didn't have a problem with the effort or anything. We played hard, but it wasn't our game in a lot of ways. It was just one of those things where we couldn't get a bounce or a save, and that's going to happen sometimes."
Predictions
Pittsburgh will win the game.
Sum of goals will be more than six.
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