Before the turkey hits the table, the Predators are back in Nashville to host the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at Bridgestone Arena for a 7 p.m. CT puck drop - the 2,000th game in Predators franchise history. This evening’s contest is the first of two meetings between the clubs this season; the Preds will be in Philadelphia at the end of March.
Nashville will be looking to rebound from a 5-2 loss in New Jersey on Monday night that saw Filip Forsberg and Zach L’Heureux find the back of the net for the Preds. The result followed a 4-1 win over Winnipeg on Saturday, and the Predators know they need more of that effort as opposed to what they saw on Monday against the Devils.
“I thought tonight they were faster, they won more battles and they were just a better team for 60 minutes,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said following Monday’s loss. “We had a little bit of a push in the third, but it was way too late. We’ve been talking about it - we have one good game and we fall back to a bad game, and we’re not in a position to do that. We need to find consistency.”
Predators defenseman Jeremy Lauzon left Monday’s game in New Jersey with a lower-body injury and did not return. L’Heureux also left late in the third period after being cross-checked in the face by Devils forward Timo Meier.
Nashville forward Michael McCarron (upper body, day-to-day) and Luke Evangelista were scratched in New Jersey. Prior to Monday’s game, the Predators acquired the New York Rangers’ fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for forward Philip Tomasino.
The Good Guys:
Forsberg (9g-8a) and Josi (4g-13a) share the team lead in scoring with 17 points apiece. Jonathan Marchessault (4g-8a) and Ryan O’Reilly (3g-9a) have 12 points each, while Steven Stamkos has seven goals and 11 points on the season. Goaltender Juuse Saros, who was pulled on Monday in favor of Scott Wedgewood, is 6-10-2 with a .915 save percentage.
The Opposition:
The Flyers have dropped three of their last four outings, including a 5-4 shootout loss to Vegas on Monday. Travis Konecny leads Philadelphia with 11 goals and 26 points, followed by rookie forward Matvei Michkov with eight goals and 17 points. Defenseman Travis Sanheim has five goals and 13 points from the backend; Sean Couturier (5g-6a) and Owen Tippett (4g-7a) have 11 points each. Goaltender Ivan Fedotov is 3-4-1 on the season; Aleksei Kolosov is 1-4-0.
All-Time Meetings:
The Predators are 16-12-(3)-3 all-time against the Flyers, including an 8-5-(2)-1 record at Bridgestone Arena.
The Predators are 4-1-0 in their last five games against the Flyers; they are 7-3-0 in their last 10; and 3-2-0 in their last five on the road.
Notables Versus Philadelphia:
Steven Stamkos has posted 56 points (28g-28a) in 43 career games against the Flyers. The 28 goals are the third-most he has tallied against a single franchise in his career.
Jonathan Marchessault has 13 points (6g-7a) in 14 career games against the Flyers. He potted two goals and added an assist in his last game against Philadelphia.
Juuse Saros is 5-3-0 in eight career starts against the Flyers, posting a .910 save percentage and a 2.53 goals-against average.
Ryan O’Reilly has recorded a point-per-game in 24 career meetings with the Flyers, tallying nine goals and 24 points.
Luke Schenn played parts of four seasons for Philadelphia from 2012-16, recording 42 points (12g-30a) in 213 games. He has 12 points (2g-10a) in 25 career games against his former team.
Milestone Watch:
The Predators franchise is one game from 2,000 and seven wins from 1,000.
Luke Schenn is one point from 200 in his NHL career.
Tommy Novak is one point from 100 in his NHL career.
Jonathan Marchessault is one point from 500 in his NHL career.
Filip Forsberg passed Mattias Ekholm (719) for the fifth-most games played in franchise history on Nov. 25 against New Jersey and is five games from passing Martin Erat (723) for the fourth-most in franchise; is three power-play goals (78) from passing Shea Weber (80) for the most in Predators history; and is four goals from 300 in his NHL career.
Ryan O’Reilly is two assists from 500 in his NHL career.
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for tonight’s contest begins at 6:30 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 Chase McCabe 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.)
