Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas
A three-game winning streak takes the Nashville Predators (5th in Central Division) to Ottawa, where the local Senators (7th in Atlantic) will round off a four-game homestand after losing their previous game with a count of 8-4 to Seattle.
The Nashville Predators (18-14-6) triumphed for the third straight time, extending their current point streak to five outings (4-0-1) following a 3-2 victory against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Friday. Ryan McDonagh (1 goal, 9 points this year) buried the winner with 3:16 left in the third period after the Preds squandered 1-0 and 2-1 leads in the previous two frames. Thomas Novak (4 goals, 7 points) and Yakov Trenin (5 goals, 12 points) also tallied for Nashville, which has registered just a single regulation defeat in its past nine contests (6-1-2).
Goalie Kevin Lankinen stopped 30 shots on Friday to take his current performance record to 4-4-1 for the season with a 2.81 GAA and a .918 save percentage. Juuse Saros (14-10-5 on the year with a 2.77 GAA and a .918 save percentage), though, is expected back in the crease for Nashville on Monday, having posted a 3-1-3 career total against the Ottawa Senators with a 2.66 GAA and a .913 save percentage. The Predators, meanwhile, are scoring the 6th lowest number of goals per game this season (2.79), while allowing the 15th lowest quantity defensively (3.00). They are 5th from the bottom in power play (18.0%) and 13th in penalty kill (79.4%).