‘Limit Those Grade-A Chances’: Predators Defenders Preview Blues Matchup

NASHVILLE — The Nashville Predators (2-2-3) host the St. Louis Blues (3-3-1) on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena, and the team’s defensemen say a good result starts at the back end. Limit the Blues’ best chances, support each other all over the ice, and sustain it for a full 60 minutes.

Nashville took a step forward defensively in Thursday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks, but consistency has been a theme early in the season. St. Louis has scored 25 goals in seven games, with 11 coming in the last two: seven against Ottawa and four against Minnesota.

Jayden Struble said the Predators have shown they can play well but need to do it for longer.

“We’ve seen stretches of us playing really good hockey,” Struble said on Friday. “It’s trying to do that for a full 60, and that’s the hardest part, sustaining it. But if we can get a little bit more consistency for a full game, I think that’ll help.”

Nick Perbix pointed to the importance of keeping the Blues’ best chances to a minimum. He said that helps the goaltender and the offense.

“They’re a division opponent," Perbix said after Friday's practice. "We play them a few more times this year, and I said earlier, just limit those grade-A chances. We’ve got a great netminder back there. We trust him, but we can’t put him in that tough spot. So usually, if we limit those chances too, it leads to our offense because we can kind of jump in the play as defensemen and find those little gaps.”

Nic Hague focused on energy, support and using the home crowd.

“I think we’ve got to come with the same energy. We’ve got to use the crowd to our advantage. Saturday night, it’s going to be a lot of fun. We’ve got to keep working to build our game. The little details, making sure we’re supporting each other. I think when we’re at our best, we never see anyone on an island, so to speak, right? Defensively, offensively, we’re always supporting each other, supporting the puck. You never really find guys too far away from each other. I think that’s going to be really key. I think that helps us hold on to pucks, helps us win those battles. We can get in there second quick, and I think when we’re cooking like that, we’ll be able to defend better and hopefully create more offensively as well.”

Puck drop between the Predators and Blues is set for 7 p.m. CT at Bridgestone Arena, the finale of Nashville’s three-game homestand. The teams meet again on Broadway on Nov. 7.

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