After a back-and-forth affair that saw the Nashville Predators claw back a lead, then give it up in a regulation loss, they head south to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on their way home.
It’s been a rough year in the Steel City, with the losses significantly outnumbering the wins. The Penguins put Evgeni Malkin on IR last week, with injuries — stop me if you’ve heard this one before — once again taking out a key piece of their offense. The team mortgaged their future to pay for what’s now their past, and they’d probably make the same choice again, but all of their most significant offensive contributors are 30+, with no young talent making a regular impact of any real size at the NHL level.