PREVIEW 7:45 AM EST

Coming off an ugly 4-0 loss in Tampa Bay in the first game after the All-Star break, the Flyers (33-13-5) return to the Wells Fargo Center tonight to take on the scrappy Nashville Predators (27-17-7) on Bobby Clarke Banner Night. This is the lone meeting of the season between the clubs, and should be another good test for the Flyers.

Typical of a Barry Trotz-coached team, the current installment of the Preds make opponents earn their goals. The Preds don't score much (just 136 goals) but they allow even fewer goals. The Predators are tied with the Vancouver Canucks for the fewest goals against (122) in the NHL. Nashville has been a solid road club this season, posting a winning record (16-13-1) in away games.

The Predators boast arguably the NHL's most underrated goaltender in Pekka Rinne. When all else fails, Nashville can almost always rely on Rinne to keep them close in games. The Flyers got a taste of his talents last year, when the Finn made 42 saves and went 3-for-3 in the shootout in the Predators' 4-3 home win over Philly in last year's game between the clubs. This season, Rinne ranks second in the NHL in both save percentage (.929) and goals against average (2.10). Give him a little goal support, and he'll shut the door. Rinne boasts a 15-7-1 record when getting even two goals from the team in front of him.

Nashville also has one heck of a blueline nucleus. They may not go six deep the way the Flyers do, but they have a wealth of riches with the likes of All-Star Shea Weber, Ryan Suter and Cody Franson to trigger the offense and help shut down opponents defensively.
Weber leads the club in scoring with 31 points this season and has combined with Franson (6 goals) for 15 tallies from the point or off the rush. Meanwhile, Suter leads the club with a plus-18 rating at even strength.

Offensively, Nashville is an opportunistic team. The Preds have scored several goals this season off back-door plays with a defenseman sneaking in from the point and are also dangerous off the faceoff. They can also strike in transition. Among the forwards, Patric Hornqvist (a 30-goal scorer last season) leads the way with 16 goals, while ex-Canadien Sergei Kostitsyn and Colin Wilson have a dozen tallies apiece. The Predators have been abysmal on the power play this season, connecting just 14 percent of the time.

In short, the Predators may not have a forward corps like the one in Tampa, but the Flyers are going to have to play with much more energy and focus than they displayed in their last game if they are to avoid a similarly dissatisfying outcome.

Peter Laviolette has hinted at potential lineup changes tonight, with a surplus of forwards again available to play. Yesterday, he suggested indirectly that Andreas Nodl could be a healthy scratch for the first time this season. Nodl's ice time has dropped in the last few games, dating back to before the All-Star break. Despite playing on Mike Richards' line and continuing to check well, his offensive production has fallen off a cliff (0 G, 3 A in his last 13 games). As is his custom, Laviolette refused to name a starting goalie ahead of time.

Among players who will definitely be playing tonight, Ville Leino is one of the players who most needs to get back on track. He had played strong two-way hockey through most of the season, but has been mediocre defensively in most of his last five or six games and hasn't been creating many offensive chances of late either. Leino has one point (an assist) and is a minus-five over his last six games. I had hoped that the All-Star break would help him recharge his batteries, but he was among the least effective of many ineffective Flyers in the Tampa game.

I will try to post lineups later today.

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