Time for Preds to get defensive
There will be plenty of defensive talent on display tonight at the Sommet Center. The Preds’ success against Calgary this evening–and for the entire season–will depend in large part on how Nashville’s defensemen perform.
The 2003 NHL Entry Draft held in Nashville offered a bumper crop of quality defensemen. Nashville’s Ryan Suter, the seventh player overall taken in the first round, Calgary’s Dion Phaneuf, the ninth player selected in the first round; Nashville’s Shea Weber, the 47th player overall taken in the second round and Kevin Klein, the third player picked by Nashville in the second round and the 37th overall, should all be on display tonight at 7 when the Flames and Predators meet at the Sommet Center.
Although offense has rarely been a source of strength for the Preds, Nashville’s shown early on this season that it can score goals when it needs them. It hasn’t shown that it can stop opponents from doing the same on a consistent basis, as high-score setbacks against St. Louis, Dallas and Columbus attest. The Preds have long been lauded for their depth at the defenseman position, and that’s true even though the team selected Ryan Suter over Dion Phaneuf in the 2003 draft. If Nashville is going to qualify for its fifth consecutive postseason this coming spring, that depth had better translate into strong defense soon.
