Turris to make debut for Predators against Penguins (Nov 11, 2017)
Saturday night's visit from the Pittsburgh Penguins is a rematch of last spring's Stanley Cup Finals, won by Pittsburgh in six games, was already marked on the Nashville Predators' calendar.
But the matchup got a little more spice Sunday night when Nashville completed a three-way trade with Colorado and Ottawa for the No. 2 center it has sought for more than a year.
Surprisingly, it wasn't Matt Duchene, linked to the Predators since it became obvious they needed center help. He instead went to the Senators, with Ottawa's Kyle Turris coming to Nashville. General manager David Poile quickly moved to lock Turris up long term, inking him to a six-year, $36 million extension.
Turris' first game with the Predators will come against a team that ended his Cup dreams last spring too. Pittsburgh survived Ottawa in a grueling seven-game Eastern Conference Final, advancing on a double-overtime goal from Chris Kunitz.
Unavailable for Nashville's 3-1 win Tuesday night in Columbus as he sought a work visa, Turris got it Wednesday and practiced with his new team for the first time on Thursday.
"I'm just looking forward to getting on the ice and getting chemistry with the guys," he said to the Predators' website. "It's an exciting style of hockey that I'm looking forward to being a part of."
Turris, who has three goals and six assists in 11 games this season, scored a career-high 27 goals last season and has 136 in nine-plus seasons between Phoenix and Ottawa.
Nashville coach Peter Laviolette put Turris between Craig Smith and Kevin Fiala at practice Thursday but said Turris can fit between any set of wingers, citing his versatility.
"He's going to help whoever he plays with," Laviolette said. "He's certainly going to help your power play, help your offense, comes in as a guy that can make plays and score goals. If somebody gets a chance on that line, I think they have a chance to become a more offensive threat, just because of his presence out there."
The Predators (8-5-2) are fresh off a 3-1-0 road trip, losing the opener in San Jose and then sweeping the coast-to-coast journey's remainder. Their victory Tuesday night over Columbus featured two goals in the final 5 1/2 minutes to snap a 1-1 tie.
While Nashville comes in with three days of rest, Pittsburgh (9-7-2) is playing on back-to-back nights. The Penguins lost 4-1 on Friday night in Washington and then had to fly across a time zone for their first game in Bridgestone Arena since hoisting the Cup there five months ago.
Like the Predators, the Penguins have struggled during even-strength action. It has been outscored 46-22 skating five-on-five, and captain Sidney Crosby hasn't been able to provide the spark his team needs. Crosby has gone 10 games without a goal.
"There's been some chances there, some posts, things like that, but I'd still like to generate a little bit more," he said.
Pekka Rinne (7-2-2, 2.08, .934) is expected to start in net for Nashville. The Penguins could start Matt Murray (9-4-1, 2.90, .906) or newly-minted backup Tristan Jarry (0-0-1, 1.94, .941).
