Nashville Predators: Preds look to out-duel the Rangers on Opening Night

The Nashville Predators begin their 2018-2019 campaign tonight, as they head to Manhattan to take on the New York Rangers.

Nashville Predators hockey is finally back!! The NHL regular season began on Wednesday night with eight teams beginning their season.  The Nashville Predators had to wait an extra night to begin their season, as 10 games will take place tonight in the NHL.

The Nashville Predators are looking to build off of their most successful regular season in franchise history when they finished as the winners of the Central Division, the Western Conference, and the President’s Trophy.

The Predators are very similar to last year’s team, only losing two players. Both Mike Fisher and Scott Hartnell retired, ending two very successful careers.

Team Preview

New York Rangers

The New York Rangers head into this year coming off of one of their worst seasons in recent history. The Rangers finished with a record of 34-39-9, good for only 77 points, which was the last in the Metropolitan Division.

The Rangers head into this year with a new head coach. David Quinn was hired to replace Alain Vigneault, who was in that position for five years, including four playoff appearances.

This will be an interesting year for the Rangers as they are in a rebuilding stage. Many sites have the Rangers sitting around the 20-25 spot on their power ranking lists, which is very different from what it’s been over the last few years.

Projected Lineup

The Nashville Predators released their projected lineup earlier today. The top three lines come to no surprise. Ryan Hartman, who was placed on Injured Reserves earlier in the week might see his way into the lineup tonight, likely taking over Rinaldo’s spot.

The only difference on defense this season is that Dan Hamhuis is on the third line with Yannick Weber. Pekka Rinne is getting the opening night start for the Predators tonight.

Players to Watch

LW Mats Zuccarello

Mats Zuccarello was the leading scorer last season for the Rangers with 53 points. Zuccarello has spent eight years with the Rangers and has been a great contributor ever since. Last year, he was able to score 16 goals and finished with 37 assists. He will be a key piece for the Rangers in their rebuilding stage.

C Mika Zibanejad

Mika Zibanejad has been a key contributor for the Rangers ever since he arrived in New York. He was originally drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the 2011 NHL Draft as was acquired by the Rangers heading into the 2016-2017 season. Zibanejad showed out for the Rangers last year, leading the team with 27 goals. Like Zuccarello, Zibanejad will be a key piece in their success over the next few seasons.

G Henrik Lundqvist

Henrik Lundqvist has been a huge part of the Rangers franchise for the last 13 seasons. During his time in net for the Rangers, he has been a part of four All-Star games and has won the Vezina Trophy once. He struggled last season, finishing 26-26-7 in 63 games played. Although he struggled last season, he has always been a top goaltender in the National Hockey League, so the Predators will have a handful tonight.

Catch the Game

The Predators-Rangers matchup tonight will be broadcasted on NBCSN with puck drop around 6:30 PM. You can also catch the game on 102.5 The Game.