Blues Visit Nashville in a Central Scramble for Footing
Two clubs level on points meet as the Predators try to cut down the shot attempts they allow.
Written before the game
Two Central Division teams with identical point totals meet Saturday, and the gap between them shows up in what each allows, not what each creates.
St. Louis (3-3-1, 7 points, fifth in the Central, 10th in the West) and Nashville (2-2-3, 7 points, seventh in the Central, 12th in the West) both sit in the wild-card mix.
Both teams generate the same volume of shot attempts, averaging 54.9 per game. The difference is the other end: the Blues give up 54.1 attempts a game, while the Predators allow 63.9, nearly ten more every night.
The quality of chances follows the same pattern. St. Louis has earned 3.12 expected goals per game (what its chances are worth) against 2.86 allowed. Nashville creates 2.9 and gives up 3.4, so it is losing the chance battle most nights.
The Blues arrive off a loss, and they are 2-3-0 on the road. Over the season so far, St. Louis has had the better chances, and Nashville needs to cut down what it gives up to keep pace.