The Nashville Predators have one more game before the Christmas break, and it's going to be against another Southeast rival.
Martin Nečas leads the way offensively, with 14 goals, 30 assists, and 44 points. He's tied for the goalscoring lead with Jack Roslovic, and Sebastian Aho (the forward), Shayne Gostisbehere, and Andrei Svechnikov have also been regular contributors.
22-year-old Seth Jarvis not only has 20 points, he's been lights-out defensively. Jordans Martinook and Staal, and William Carrier, also stand out in the shot danger arena on a team that is, as a whole, superb both offensively and defensively. With above-average goaltending or better shooting luck they'd be practically unbeatable, but even turning up average in both has led them to a lot of success.
They've had the above-average performance in their special teams percentages, where a relentless power play and stifling penalty kill have gotten the results you'd expect but don't always see. The Preds probably want to keep this one 5v5, though the Canes are no slouch there either.
The game airs at 7 PM Central on FanDuel Sports Network South -- for both teams, which should be interesting -- and 102.5 The Game.