Predators Aim for Win over Bruins, Zachary L’Heureux to Debut

The Nashville Predators are off to their worst start in team history & are still in search of win No. 1 this season.

Tonight the Boston Bruins are in town boasting a 3-2-1 record after losing 2-1 in overtime on Saturday night against the Utah Hockey Club.

Head coach Andrew Brunette said his team is chasing expectation rather than their own game. The process & the joy of playing haven’t been lost, it’s just not something Nashville has yet to experience through five games.

“Frustration is a scary emotion & it’s not a great emotion,” Brunette said. “If you look at yourself, I know I look at myself individually, I know when I’m frustrated I’m not a very good person & not a very good teammate. That’s crept in a little bit & against chasing the expectations that we have for ourselves & we’re skipping the process of a little bit of the work.”

Brunette has seen how evident the frustration is on & off the ice. Cumulatively his team has not outscored anyone through each period & only has five goals for during five-on-five play this season.

“Let’s wipe out the frustration. I think we’re playing heavy with frustration right now,” Brunette said. “Kind of confusing anger with frustration instead of having anger & determination & we need some determination.”

One way Brunette hopes to change that is by adding forward Zachary L’Heureux to the fold. The 21-year-old brings tenacity & a scoring ability to the table after putting up 48 points in 66 games last season with the Milwaukee Admirals.

During practice on Monday, he was seen skating alongside Michael McCarron & Cole Smith. That’s where he’s expected to line up as L’Heureux anticipates having around 30 people in attendance tonight for his debut.

Here’s how Nashville will likely line up against Boston.

Projected lines vs Boston for NSH. Don’t expect this to be far off.

Forsberg – O’Reilly – Nyquist
Stamkos – Sissons – Marchessault
Jankowski – Novak – Evangelista
L’Heureux – McCarron – Smith

Skjei – Josi
Lauzon – Carrier
Del Gaizo – Schenn

Saros
Wedgewood

Extra:…

— Nick Kieser🏒 (@KieserNick) October 22, 2024

Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick

Photos courtesy of the Nashville Predators