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Nashville Predators: What to watch for in season opener

By Colton Pickard

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 20: Rocco Grimaldi #23 of the Nashville Predators is congratulated by teammates Ryan Ellis #4, Filip Forsberg #9, and Kyle Turris #8 after scoring a goal against the Dallas Stars during the first period of Game Five of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena on April 20, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 20: Rocco Grimaldi #23 of the Nashville Predators is congratulated by teammates Ryan Ellis #4, Filip Forsberg #9, and Kyle Turris #8 after scoring a goal against the Dallas Stars during the first period of Game Five of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena on April 20, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images) /
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The Nashville Predators are kicking off their 2019 campaign on Thursday and there are a few things even the casual fan needs to watch for.

Rocky Top is usually home sweet home to me in the fall but this year Smashville has a chance to change that. The Nashville Predators are getting ready to start a new season and will kick things off on Thursday.

The Predators’ season opener will be against the Minnesota Wild will look to defend their Central Division title once again this season.

Last season the Predators finished 49-27-6 which locked in their second straight division championship but the goal is more than a division championship this year.

They can improve on last season and all they have to do is correct one thing. It’s the biggest issue they had last year and it’s a big reason they lost in the first round of the playoffs.

If the Predators can fix their power play then they’ll once again be a dominant team in the Western Conference. The Predators were horrible last year and they went out and hired Dan Lambert as an assistant coach to help fix that so we’ll see if that changes in Game 1 and moving forward.

Another thing is the defense without P.K. Subban. As you may know, Subban was traded this summer so now someone is going to have to step up in his place. Many people think that’ll be Dante Fabbro and I believe he could be the right guy to do it.

Fabbro is a phenomenal player in my eyes and could be an asset for the Predators for years to come. Replacing Subban’s on-ice talents may be difficult at first but if they can figure it out early in the season then they will be an inpenitrable defense.

The final thing I want to watch for the Preds is their scoring. Can they take advantage of mistakes made by Minnesota and put points on the board.

No doubt Bridgestone Arena will be rocking tonight so they’ll have to crowd behind them. There are some new faces for the Predators on the ice this year so they may look a little different but sometimes change is good.

Matt Duchene is making his much anticipated Predators debut so if he can come out with a great performance on Thursday and through the weekend then he can take that and use it as momentum going into the winter.

The Wild were outscored by an average of 0.3 goals last season so we can kick off the new season on the right foot by going ahead and putting them in the negative to start the season.

Next. Fansided Fan of the Year Contest. dark

It’s the Predators inaguaral championship season and I hope this one will be as memorable as their first run to the Stanley Cup Finals. What a run that was, eh? Let’s do it again fellas, but this time let’s get the dang Cup!

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