NBCSN’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with Thursday night’s matchup between the Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.
There’s no better time than now for the Nashville Predators to re-take the lead in the Central Division.
The Winnipeg Jets hold a one-point lead over the Predators and still have two games in hand (three after tonight), but the Jets have been wallowing in a bad slump at the moment, leaving the door open for Nashville to waltz right on through if they can down the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday on NBCSN.
The problem for Nashville is they haven’t played particularly well, either, with five wins in their past 10 games (Winnipeg has four). A three-game losing streak last week has been met with wins in two of their past three games most recently, but the Preds got rolled 5-1 in Vegas over the weekend before bouncing back in the third period to beat the Dallas Stars 5-3 on Tuesday.
“We just had more speed, more attitude, and we just worked harder,” Roman Josi said. “We weren’t happy with the way we played in Vegas, and we had two days here to sit on it. We knew we had to play a lot harder to be successful, and we did that tonight.”
Like the Jets, Nashville could use a piece or two at the trade deadline to cover off its consistency issues. The Preds have already added size to the lineup with the acquisitions of Brian Boyle and Cody McLeod. Boyle’s scored twice already in his new threads and has been the net-front presence that was lacking in the lineup.
“If we can improve our club we’re going to do that,” general manager David Poile said. “I’m comfortable with what we have and filling the holes I thought we had.”
Poile might be saying the right things, but it’s obvious his team could use more scoring. Viktor Arvidsson’s 26 goals in 38 games have been a revelation, especially since he missed nearly two months with a broken thumb.
But one player can’t carry the load forever. And some of Nashville’s top names aren’t helping the cause at the moment
Filip Forsberg: Seven goals in 19 games since returning from injury.
Ryan Johansen: 11 goals in 60 games.
Craig Smith: Two goals in his past 18 (is third on the team with 16 goals)
The scoring issues up front have been less of a concern thanks to the success they’ve found on the backend.
Only the San Jose Sharks (172) have more points by defensemen than the Preds (163).
Josi and Matthias Ekholm sit second and third on the team in points, with Josi on his way to a career-year if he can keep it going. He has 13 goals already (career-high is 15) and is sitting at 49 points (career-high is 61). He’s averaging 0.79 points per game.
He’s caught fire recently, too, scoring five goals and adding eight helpers in his past 10 games.
Alex Faust (play-by-play) and Brian Boucher (‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst) will have the call from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. Pre-game coverage starts at 7 p.m. ET with NHL Live, hosted by Kathryn Tappen with Jeremy Roenick and Keith Jones.
Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck