The Nashville Predators will conclude their three-game trip through eastern Canada tonight in Ottawa when they take on the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre for a 6 p.m. CT puck drop. This evening’s contest is the first of two meetings between the two this season; the Preds will host the Sens in February.
After starting the trip with a 3-2 loss in Toronto on Wednesday, the Predators were shut out in Montreal by a 3-0 final on Thursday, a result that left them searching for answers once more.
“I think we're giving ourselves a chance every night, and that’s all you can ask,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said following Thursday’s loss. “It's a hard League. You're giving yourself every night an opportunity to win a game. I think our defensive game has been pretty good for the most part. We've had outstanding goaltending. Our penalty killing has been really good. Our power play has kind of gotten dry here a little bit, and we need that to go. So, we're giving ourselves a chance, we just haven't been able to break through offensively 5-on-5 to either get that other goal, or to make that play to win a game.”
Prior to Thursday’s game, the Preds announced centerman Ryan O’Reilly is week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Defenseman Jeremy Lauzon (lower body) was added to Injured Reserve, and forward Michael McCarron was removed from IR and returned to the Nashville lineup. In addition to O’Reilly, forward Tommy Novak and defenseman Marc Del Gaizo were scratched against the Canadiens.
“We'll try the best we can,” Brunette said on managing the loss of O’Reilly. “I think it's an opportunity for other guys to step up and solidify a little bit of a role and add a little bit to the team.”
