The Penguins will look to end their two-game slide tonight when they take on the Predators in Nashville. Greeting them will be a familiar foe: former Penguins winger James Neal.
Neal scored 89 goals in parts of four seasons with the Penguins, including a career-best 40 in 2011-12. His trade was the first major move of the Jim Rutherford era, as the new Penguins General Manager sent Neal to Nashville for Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling.
“I’m excited,” Neal said of his opportunity to play against his former team, “Have fun with it, enjoy it, and then move on.”
Neal has five goals through seven games with the Predators; including a hat trick to lead the team to a 3-2 win Thursday night against Chicago.
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT: The Predators may be the surprise team of the 2014-15 season. They lead the competitive Central Division with 12 points, and have yet to lose in regulation.
Center was expected to be the team’s biggest weakness coming into this season, but so far, it has been a strength. Rookie Filip Forsberg, with seven points including six assists, and free-agent acquisition Mike Ribeiro, with three goals and three assists, lead the team in scoring.
On defense, Captain Shea Weber leads the way, averaging a second-in-the-league 28:38 in ice time. He’s also a +5 with four points through seven games.
In goal, Pekka Rinne has been nothing short of incredible after an injury-plagued 2013-14 season. He has a 5-0-1 record and a .939 save percentage. Rinne has struggled in his career against Pittsburgh, with a 1-2-1 record and a .867 save percentage in four games. That .867 mark is the Rinne’s worst against any single opponent.
HAPPY RETURNS: Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling will be playing their first games in Nashville as a member of the opposition.
“It’s going to be strange the first time back, it’s exciting, but it’s definitely different,” Spaling said of his return to the music city.
Both players seem to have adjusted well to Pittsburgh. Hornqvist is third on the Penguins with eight points. Spaling has been an integral part of the Penguins improving penalty kill. He’s also chipped in offensively, with his goal against the Flyers on Wednesday.
PUCKSTOPPERS: After Thomas Greiss allowed four goals on 31 shots in the Penguins’ 3-2 overtime loss in Detroit on Thursday, Marc-Andre Fleury will return to the Penguins’ crease tonight. Both goaltenders are struggling, with save percentages of .906 for Fleury and .871 for Greiss ranking 34th and 55th in the league, respectively.
Fleury has an opportunity to turn things around tonight, as he has been excellent against Nashville in his career. In eight games against the Predators, he has a 5-2-1 record and a .923 save percentage.
TALE OF TWO CITIES: Nashville’s early season success has come largely at even strength. They have scored just two goals in 23 power play chances, for an 8.7% success rate. 88.9% of the team’s offense has come at even strength.
The Penguins, on the other hand, have emerged as power play specialists. Their PP unit leads the league with a 36.4% success rate. They also have an NHL-best eight power play goals. The Penguins have scored only 59% of their goals at even strength
MINOR MATTERS: Center Andrew Ebbett and defenseman Scott Harrington have re-joined Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for their games this weekend. Defenseman Harrison Ruopp was sent down to Wheeling as a result of the extra bodies on the AHL Penguins’ blue line.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (3-3) routed Springfield by a score of 5-0 on Friday night. Bryan Rust and Nick Drazenovic both had two goals and Jean-Sebastien Dea added an empty-netter. Matt Murray made 21 saves for the shutout and his first professional victory. WBS travel to Hershey tonight and host Binghamton on Sunday afternoon.
Wheeling (1-1) lost 5-0 to the Gwinnett Gladiators. Franky Palazzese took the loss and allowed four goals on 14 shots through the first two periods. Former Penguins prospect Casey-Pierro Zabotel scored 2 goals for the Gladiators. The Nailers three-game road trip continues with a stop in South Carolina tonight.
Photo credit: Nashville Predators
