After the All-Star break, the Nashville Predators are back in action tonight against the Dallas Stars. A season currently only good for fifth in the Central (23-18-2, still a very slightly winning record) has caused the Stars’ playoff chances to dwindle, but some good fortune for them and bad fortune for their division rivals could still turn that around pretty quickly, and if they’re still hoping to make the playoffs that fortune might need to start tonight.
Unfortunately for the Stars, they’ve been playing a pretty average game at 5v5. They don’t give up a ton, but they’re not defensively elite; they also don’t create enough for themselves to consistently make their games “good team defense” instead of just “slow”.