Less than 24 hours after defeating Colorado, the Nashville Predators are back at Bridgestone Arena for another 5 p.m. CT start this evening when they host the New Jersey Devils. Tonight’s contest is the second and final meeting between the two foes this season as the Preds finish off a back-to-back set coming out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
The Predators returned to action last night with a 2-1 victory over the Avalanche for their second consecutive win overall. Head Coach Andrew Brunette called it a “committed” win, and while it wasn’t perfect, the result was the ideal way for Nashville to begin the final eight weeks of the season. Now, they’ll look to build off of that effort in search of two more points tonight.
"We’re trying to commit to playing the right way,” Preds defenseman Luke Schenn said after the win. “Obviously, we understand what the standings are, but we have a lot of pride in this room, and we just want to continue to build and play for one another and just give an honest effort.”
“Obviously, the year's been up and down…and we’ve got a lot of guys with a lot of pride in this locker room and a great leadership group,” Preds defenseman Justin Barron said Saturday. “For us, we're going to keep playing with that playoff mindset right until the end of the year, and [we’re] trying to keep building this culture here into a winning culture again.”
Last Time Out:
Barron and Jonathan Marchessault both tallied for Nashville, and Juuse Saros made 31 saves in net to give the Preds their 20th win of the season.
Defenseman Andreas Englund made his Predators debut on Saturday after being claimed on waivers from Los Angeles. The blueliner registered two shots and four hits in 14:35 of ice time in the win.
Forward Kieffer Bellows and defenseman Jake Livingstone, both of whom were recalled yesterday from Milwaukee, were Nashville’s healthy scratches on Saturday.
The Good Guys:
Filip Forsberg continues to lead the Preds with 21 goals and 53 points on the season, followed by Marchessault with 18 goals and 45 points. Roman Josi has 29 assists and 38 points form the backend, Ryan O’Reilly has 14 goals and 34 points, while Steven Stamkos has 127 goals and 33 points on the season. Saros is now 12-23-6 in net; Justus Annunen is 13-7-0 overall.
The Opposition:
The Devils came out of the break with a 4-2 loss to Dallas yesterday in Newark. Jack Hughes, who scored both of his team's goals yesterday, paces New Jersey with 26 goals and 67 points, followed by Jesper Bratt (17g-49a) with 66 points and Nico Hischier with 24 goals and 43 points. Jake Allen, who took the loss yesterday, is 9-12-1 in net; Nico Daws is 1-0-0 in two appearances this season.
All-Time Meetings:
The Predators are 3-2-0 in their last five outings against New Jersey and are 8-2-0 in their last 10. Nashville is 4-1-0 in their last five meetings with the Devils at Bridgestone Arena. The Predators are 7-1-4 in their last 12 meeting with the Devils at home, with the lone regulation loss coming in the last matchup in Tennessee on Feb. 13, 2024.
Notables Versus New Jersey:
Roman Josi enters Sunday’s contest on a nine-game point streak (3g-10a) against the Devils after recording an assist in the first meeting on Nov. 25. He owns 22 points (6g-16a) in 21 career games vs. New Jersey dating back to November 2013.
Brady Skjei (27 GP) has recorded 15 points (5g-10a) against the Devils, the second-most against a single franchise in his career.
Steven Stamkos is operating at a point-per-game pace vs. New Jersey in his career, recording 45 points (24g-21a) in 45 appearances.
Jonathan Marchessault owns 17 points (9g-8a) in 17 career games against the Devils, including five multi-point efforts.
Devils forward Erik Haula played in 51 games for Nashville in 2020-21, recording 21 points (9g-12a).
Milestone Watch:
Steven Stamkos is two assists from 600 in his NHL career. Stamkos (572) is two goals from passing Mike Bossy (573) for the 23rd-most in NHL history.
Ryan O’Reilly is four goals from 300 in his NHL career.
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for tonight’s contest begins at 4:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on FanDuel Sports Network South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley and Hal Gill. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic, analyst Chris Mason and rinkside reporter Kara Hammer will have the call on the television side.
Voice of the Predators Pete Weber and Jay More will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network, with pregame, postgame and intermission coverage by Max Herz beginning one hour before puck drop. The game will also be broadcast in Spanish on El Jefe which airs on 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM. (El partido también se transmite en español por El Jefe en 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM y 810 AM.)
