After securing their first win of the 2024-25 season against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Edmonton Oilers will travel to Nashville to take on the winless Predators.
The Predators have struggled in recent years but made several big moves over the summer, including signing former Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos and Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Marchessault. They also extended goaltender Juuse Saros’ contract for eight years. However, they traded Ryan McDonagh back to the Lightning and dealt Cody Glass and Yaroslav Askarov in other trades.
Despite these changes, the Predators have started the season with a 0-3-0 record, losing their first game 4-3 to the Dallas Stars, getting shut out 3-0 by the Detroit Red Wings, and falling 7-3 to the Seattle Kraken.
The Oilers also saw changes during the offseason, losing several key players and adding new ones like Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner. With Evander Kane on long-term injured reserve, they are a different team than last spring.
Edmonton lost their first three games, including a 6-0 defeat to the Winnipeg Jets, but finally earned a win against the Flyers, finishing their homestand at 1-3-0.
While the Oilers have strong even-strength numbers, their special teams have struggled. Their power play has only scored once on nine chances, and the penalty kill has allowed seven goals on 16 opportunities. The team is missing key players who contributed to the penalty kill last season.
The Predators have also had a tough start despite being capable on paper. They rank high in even-strength shot attempts but sit near the bottom in shooting percentage and save percentage. Their power play has only one goal on 11 chances, but their penalty kill has allowed just one goal against.
The Oilers have performed well against the Predators in recent years, going 11-2-2 since the 2018-19 season, including 5-0-2 in Nashville. Leon Draisaitl has been especially effective, scoring 23 goals and 37 points in those matchups.
