GAME DAY | Canadiens – Predators: Preview, Lines, Goalies, TV, Fantasy

• Nashville Captain Shea Weber on their win versus the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night: “That’s a good team, so it definitely is something to build off of, we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves here. We’re not world beaters by any means. It’s a good solid game for us, but we have a tough opponent in Montreal who is fighting for a lot right now because they’ve been struggling too. [We need to] finish off strong here before the break and then figure it out when we come back.”
• Montreal Captain Max Pacioretty: “I feel like it’s all on my shoulders. I should take responsibility when things aren’t going well. I have to be better. I have to help out my team by producing and I haven’t done that as of late, when I’m going and playing my best, obviously it makes the team a lot better. That hasn’t been the case lately. Last night was frustrating because it wasn’t a case of bounces or not burying our chances; the chances weren’t there.”
• Dale Weise: “The way to get some traction is to just start scoring goals and guys start feeling good about themselves. The only way you can get confidence in scoring goals is by doing it. It’s plain and simple,”
• The Predators have been struggling recently, as they have lost six of their last nine games (two of those losses coming in overtime). They have also only won three of their past seven games at home. Their offense has also been very ineffective of late, as they have only scored seven goals over their past four games.
• The Canadiens have really been struggling to cope without Carey Price and Brendan Gallagher, as they have won only a single game in their past eight. Add this to the fact that the Canadiens are also on a 3 game road losing streak, and it is very clear that they are going through a rough patch.
• While the Canadiens have a 4-7-0 record versus teams in the Western Conference this season, The Predators boast a 7-5-1 record versus teams coming out of the Eastern Conference.
• The Canadiens have dropped down in the goals against category, they are currently tied for 9th in the league in goals against, with 82 in their first 34 games. The Predators’ defensive game has also been very average, as they have allowed 85 goals against in their first 33 games and are in a tie for 15th in the league.
• The Canadiens are currently in a tie for fourth place in the NHL in the goals for category, with 103 over their first 34 games. The Predators’ offense has been below average this season as they rank 22ed in the NHL in goals for with a total of 85 goals over their first 33 games this season.

• Quick note: It may be in your best interest to stay away from Ryan Ellis in daily leagues. Although he does shoot quite a bit for a defenseman (62 shots in 32 games), he has been ice cold in terms of point production with only four points in his last 17 games (and only two in his last seven). Ellis does tend to score in bunches and gambling on him could pay off, but I recommend only starting him if if you need to fill a roster spot.
• Another Predators’ defenseman who has been struggling mightily is Seth Jones. The highly touted American is at a point this season in which he should only be owned in keeper leagues as he has a 17 game pointless streak going. He does shoot at a pace similar to Ellis from above (66 shots in 33 games) and produces an average of just over one blocked shot per game (35 in 33).
• Top scorers for the Predators at home this season are:

1. James Neal (with 15 points in 17 games).
2. Mike Ribeiro (with 14 points in 17 games)
3. Filip Forsberg and Shea Weber (all with 11 points in 17 games)

• Top scorers for the Canadiens on the road this season are:

1. Andrei Markov and Tomas Plekanec (both with 13 points in 15 games)
2. Max Pacioretty and P. K. Subban (both with 12 points in 15 games)
3. Alex Galchenyuk (with 10 points in 15 games)

Player stats from War-on-Ice, NHL.com and Yahoo Sports.