when the Nashville Predators face the Washington Capitals in a New Year’s Eve matinee Monday.The Predators are mired in a six-game skid after blowing a third-period lead in a 4-3 loss to the Rangers on Saturday. On top of that Brock McGinn Jersey Kids , Nashville has struggled away from home, dropping 10 straight road contests heading into Monday’s game — the start of a stretch of seven of eight games on the road.“We find ourselves losing a bunch in a row, and at times, that’s going to happen throughout the year,” Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis told the team’s website. “We’re going to have ups and downs; the injury bug or whatever it is. But, we’re not here to make excuses. We’re going to prepare the same way and work hard. We know it will turn eventually, and when it does, we’ll come out a better team because of it.”Article continues below ...The Predators have not been able to light the lamp during their skid, with only 10 goals during the slide. Viktor Arvidsson has returned from injury, but Filip Forsberg remains out and Kyle Turris is day-to-day with a lower-body issue www.minnesotawildteamshops.com , hampering Nashville’s offensive attack.Those offensive woes counteract the fact that the Predators have allowed the second-fewest goals in the league.“We can’t lose six in a row, not in this league and not in this division, not with the parity there is,” Nashville defenseman Nick Bonino said. “We’ve just got to get better.”On the other hand, the Capitals are playing as well as any team in the NHL, and are doing it with contributions from everyone. Washington won its fourth straight Saturday, upending Ottawa 3-2 thanks to the first career goals from Madison Bowey and Tyler Lewington, and solid netminding from Pheonix Copley, not exactly household names.“It goes into the development process and just drafting the right type of players,” Capitals coach Todd Reirden told the team’s website Authentic Jaccob Slavin Jersey , “and developing them in Hershey and then continuing to develop them here. It’s really an organizational job and a great job by our entire group.”Washington has won 16 of 19 to re-establish itself as a contender in a crowded Eastern Conference and done so while rarely using its true starting lineup. That will continue Monday as defenseman Matt Niskanen will miss a second straight game after a crash into the boards against Carolina. Fellow defenseman Brooks Orpik will be a game-time decision, after missing 27 games with a knee injury.Braden Holtby likely will get the start in net for the Capitals, though Copley certainly has held his own. The rookie goalie is 9-1-0 with a 2.37 GAA and a .921 save percentage in his last 11 starts, giving Washington confidence no matter who is between the pipes.“We’re extremely lucky to have two guys in this room who give us a chance to win,” forward Tom Wilson told reporters. “We have a pretty good team holding the fort down for us back there.” In their season-opening games, the Pittsburgh Penguins won in overtime but thought there was a fair amount of room for improvement and the Montreal Canadiens lost in overtime but were encouraged by what they thought was a strong performance.That sets an interesting stage for the matchup on Saturday at PPG Paints Arena.“I’m disappointed in the loss — you always think you could have, should have won the game — but I’m not disappointed in the effort we put out,” Montreal coach Claude Julien said of a 3-2 loss to Toronto.Article continues below ...“If we keep putting out the same effort and improve in certain areas where we didn’t do as well, there’s no doubt that if we play as well as we did, we’re going to give ourselves a chance every night.”Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan put his club’s chances a little lower in a similar scenario after a last-one-out-turn-off-the-lights 7-6 win over defending Stanley Cup champion Washington.“We were pleased with the results of the game Jordan Staal Jersey , but if we played that game 10 times over, we’d win five and lose five,” Sullivan said of trading chances at a rapid rate. “That’s not a formula for success.”Pittsburgh swept all three games against the Canadiens last season, scoring five goals in each game.While the Penguins retain a core of players and a high-paced philosophy that helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2016 and ’17, the Canadiens are looking for a new direction.Against the Maple Leafs, the Canadiens made veterans Tomas Plekanec and Carl Alzner healthy scratches in favor of a younger, speedy lineup. That included Jesperi Kotkaniemi, an 18-year-old center who made his NHL debut and played 15 minutes.“I don’t think he looked out of place,” Julien said of Kotkaniemi. “If you want to win hockey games, you have to put players on the ice who are capable of making plays Womens Justin Faulk Jersey , and he’s one of them.”Not to mention players with wheels.“We used that speed, especially on the forecheck, to take time and speed away from (Toronto),” Canadiens goaltender Carey Price said, according to the Montreal Gazette.Pittsburgh is expecting more of the same from the Canadiens.“They’re going to be a young, fast team, and those are teams that you can get trapped with,” Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin said. “You can take them lightly and get into a track meet and they can end up beating you. They’re definitely a team we’re not taking lightly. They had a great game against Toronto.“It’s a speed game right now. If you can’t adapt to that style, you’re going to have a tough time playing (against them). You’ve always got to be aware of speed.”The Penguins should know. That’s the style they play, and it could be argued they started the trend that a lot of teams are following.They find themselves trying the same tactics — taking away shooting lanes Minnesota Wild T-Shirts Womens , playing in opponents’ faces — that teams have been trying to use against them.“We see it, too, and it’s frustrating,” Dumoulin said. “But I think a lot of teams are going with that style.”