The Nashville Predators face the San Jose Sharks in the second game of the Global Series with both teams looking to start the season strong. The Predators took the opening game 4-1 and are now looking to head to 2-0 on a promising season. The Sharks meanwhile are looking to bounce back from a difficult loss and split the mini-series. While the first game was one-sided, both teams are looking to start the season on the right foot and the upcoming game should be a good one as a result.
The Predators averaged 3.20 goals per game last year and in the first game, they showed how they can be carried by their offense. Matt Duchene, Filip Forsberg, and Mikael Granlund, who lead the top line and combined for 96 goals and 138 assists last season, scored a goal and added two assists, the rest of the offense also stepped up. Nino Niederreiter, who was acquired in the offseason found the back of the net while Kiefer Sherwood led the scoring with the first goal of the game, proving that the Predators have a deep forward unit that will be tough to stop this season.
While the offense led the way, the defense also stepped up for the Predators, allowing only one goal in the opening night win. Roman Josi continued to lead the unit but the rest of the defense also stepped up with Mattias Ekholm, Dante Fabbro, and offseason addition Ryan McDonagh creating turnovers in the defensive zone and limiting effective shots on the net. Furthermore, goaltender Juuse Saros had a remarkable game, saving 22 of the 23 shots but with the team playing on short rest, look for Kevin Lankinen to be in the net in the upcoming game and he looks to improve from a season where he had a .891 save percentage and a 3.50 goals-against average on 973 shots.