"We know what we're doing well and how the results are coming, and it's always going to be our work ethic first," Preds defenseman Mattias Ekholm said Monday. "We're a hard-working team, and when we stay connected where we're a really good group, it's hard to play against us. But some of the areas too, we know that we might need to be a little bit better at. There's some good, some bad from the homestand, but I think these last three games was for sure something that we liked… Our game is pretty close to where we want to be most of the nights right now, so it's just a matter of being consistent, play it every night and we'll have a good chance every night."
"It's obviously a big week for us," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said. "The first three games of this [20-game] segment have been pretty strong in [our identity], and I think there's just some things we want to clean up defensively where we've given up some big plays, like too many 2-on-1s, too many breakaways and things like that, and that really hasn't really been from structure but more decision making. So, I think if we can tighten that up and move forward on this road trip, we'll give ourselves a good chance. There's a lot of games this week, a lot of tough opponents, so it's a good opportunity for us to go on the road, get into some battles and find a way to get points and wins on the trip."
The Predators practiced on Monday in Nashville before jetting off to Detroit, and they were joined on the ice by forward Matt Luff and defenseman Ben Harpur who were both recalled from Milwaukee. Harpur returns to the Preds after a six-game conditioning loan with the Admirals, and Luff, who was recalled to Nashville for the first time since signing with the organization as a free agent last summer, received the nod thanks to his strong play with the Ads.
"He's got some good NHL experience, he's played well in Milwaukee and he's a guy that can score," Hynes said of Luff. "He's got a good scoring touch, and he has been scoring in Milwaukee, he's got speed, he's got good size and we did like him out of camp for those reasons. He's gone down and played well, so it's an opportunity for him to come on the trip, be around the team, and then we've been fairly healthy throughout the year, but he's a player that we feel could have the opportunity on this trip to help us, and if not, he's around the team. We think it's important that we have several different guys around just when called upon that they're familiar with our group and things like that, but as we know, over the course of 82 games, you're going to get some injuries and guys banged up where you want to create some internal competition. He's a guy that we see in that role, so it's good to have him."
