Peter Laviolette will reach a milestone Thursday night, becoming just the second American-born coach to work 1,000 games behind an NHL bench when his Nashville Predators host the Toronto Maple Leafs at Bridgestone Arena.
More important to Laviolette and his players is that his team celebrate the occasion by moving closer to a Western Conference playoff berth with a win over a Toronto team making an unexpected run at an Eastern Conference postseason appearance.
Nashville (39-26-11) has played some of its best hockey down the stretch, winning seven of its last nine games to keep pace with the equally hot St.