Penguins V. Predators Preview: Pens Set For First Game Since Pettersson Trade

After making noise in the trade market Friday by dealing defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O’Connor to the Vancouver Canucks, the Pittsburgh Penguins are right back at it Saturday evening to take on the Nashville Predators.

Emotions are running high, and understandably so. Both Pettersson and O’Connor were important players in the Penguins’ locker room, and – even if the move was semi-expected due to their unrestriced free agent status – it is a wake-up call of sorts for a team that needs to start winning some games.

Nonetheless, head coach Mike Sullivan had nothing but good things to say about them:

The Penguins did win their last contest, which was the final tilt of their seven-game road trip on the West coast. They beat the Utah Hockey Club in a 3-2 overtime thriller, with Sidney Crosby registering the overtime winner to pot his 16th goal of the season.

In order to prevent more big moves from happening, they need to start stringing together a good winning streak before the 4 Nations break. Their first contest against Nashville came at Bridgestone Arena on Dec. 19, which was a 5-4 overtime victory courtesy of Bryan Rust.

They will look to get another big win before three consecutive divisional matchups.

Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic has earned yet another start between the pipes, as he has been outstanding lately. He has a 3-2 record and a .930 save percentage in his last five games, and at this juncture, it’s pertinent for the Penguins to ride the hot hand.

Here is the rest of the lineup against the Predators, which will feature newcomers Danton Heinen and Vincent Desharnais, both part of the Pettersson trade.

Nashville is a bottom-three team in the league, and they are riding a three-game losing streak. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games and own 43 points on the season – better than just the San Jose Sharks and the Chicago Blackhawks.