GAME DAY: Kings vs. Preds, November 4

The Nashville Predators (4-6-1) will close out their three-game homestand in search of their second straight win tonight when they host the Los Angeles Kings (6-3-3) at Bridgestone Arena. This evening’s contest is the first of three meetings between the two clubs this season and one of just six home games for the Preds in the month of November.

Nashville rebounded from a loss to Edmonton last Thursday by defeating the Colorado Avalanche by a 5-2 final on Saturday night. The Preds said their effort wasn’t perfect, but they now find themselves with points in five of their last six games (4-1-1), and they’ll look to build on that progress tonight.

“You’ve got to focus on the positive side of things,” Preds forward Colton Sissons said following Saturday’s win. “We’ve had some struggles and some challenges, but now we're finding ways to get points. Our game is far from perfect, but tonight is a good building block for us.”

The Predators had the day off on Sunday. Forward Mark Jankowski returned to the lineup on Saturday after missing one game due to injury. Forwards Michael McCarron and Philip Tomasino, as well as defenseman Dante Fabbro, were scratched for Nashville on Saturday.

Last Time Out:

Steven Stamkos and Roman Josi scored on the power play, while Filip Forsberg and Gustav Nyquist added empty-net tallies to help the Preds to their 5-2 victory over Colorado on Saturday. Sissons also scored his first of the season on the night, and Juuse Saros made 28 saves to earn his third win of the campaign.

Per NHL PR, Josi recorded his 167th career multi-point game and passed Kris Letang (166 GP) for 25th most in NHL history among defensemen.

Stamkos scored his 216th career power-play goal and passed Joe Nieuwendyk for 13th-most in NHL history.

The Good Guys:

Forsberg leads the Preds with six goals and 10 points through 11 games, followed by Ryan O’Reilly (3g-6a) with nine points. Nyquist (4g-3a), Jonathan Marchessault (2g-5a) and Josi (1g-6a) have seven points apiece, while Brady Skjei has two goals and six points from the blueline. Saros is now 3-5-0 on the season with a .900 save percentage.

The Opposition:

The Kings have points in four of their last five outings, including a 4-3 shootout loss to Chicago on Saturday. Anze Kopitar (4g-9a) leads Los Angeles with 13 points, followed by Alex Laferriere (8g-3a) and Brandt Clarke (1g-10a) with 11 points each. Former Preds forward Kevin Fiala has five goals and 10 points for the Kings; Adrian Kempe (4g-6a) also has 10 points to his name. Darcy Kuemper is 3-0-3 on the season; former Preds goaltender David Rittich is 3-3-0.

All-Time Meetings:

Nashville is 43-29-(3)-9 all-time against Los Angeles, including an 18-16-(3)-3 record at Bridgestone Arena.

The Predators are 13-4-3 in their last 20 games against the Kings; they are 7-3-1 in their last 11; and 4-1-1 in their last six games at Bridgestone Arena.

Overall, the Predators have lost only four times in regulation to the Kings in their last 29 meetings (18-4-7), with Nashville having won 13 of 17.

Predators TV Analyst Chris Mason made 33 saves in his first NHL shutout as Nashville and Los Angeles played to the first scoreless tie at Bridgestone Arena on Jan. 13, 2004.

Notables Versus Los Angeles:

Steven Stamkos has recorded 24 points (10g-14a) in 21 career games against Los Angeles. Stamkos has points in 10 of his last 12 games vs. Los Angeles (9g-10a) and has posted a multi-point effort in five of his last six games at the Kings (7g-5a).

Roman Josi has tallied 27 points (5g-22a) in 33 career games vs. the Kings, including 16 points (1g-15a) in his last 14 meetings against Los Angeles. He posted three assists in the Jan. 21, 2023 meeting between the two teams.

Juuse Saros is 6-2-1 against the Kings in his career, including a .924 save percentage and 2.52 goals against average.

Milestone Watch:

Jeremy Lauzon is one game from 300 in his NHL career.

Luke Schenn is one point from 200 in his NHL career.

Tommy Novak is one point from 100 in his NHL career.

Steven Stamkos (216) is two power-play goals from passing Mike Gartner and Jaromir Jagr (217) for the 11th-most in NHL history.

Filip Forsberg (77) is four power-play goals from passing Shea Weber (80) for the most in Predators history.

Gustav Nyquist is five games from 800 in his NHL career.

Ryan O’Reilly is five assists from 500 in his NHL career.

Watch & Listen:

Coverage for tonight’s game 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. Preds fans can still find the FanDuel Sports Network in the same channel positions and app as they did with Bally Sports South.

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.)