The Nashville Predators are back at Bridgestone Arena for a Black Friday matinee as they host the Tampa Bay Lightning today at 2 p.m. CT. This afternoon’s contest is the second and final meeting between the two clubs; the Preds fell to the Bolts in overtime back in October as Steven Stamkos returned to Tampa.
The Preds will be looking to rebound today from a heartbreaker on Wednesday - a 3-2 overtime loss to Philadelphia. The Flyers tied the game with 11 seconds to play before winning in OT, but despite the outcome, the Predators were largely pleased with their effort. Now, they’ll look to build on that as they begin a back-to-back set today.
“Look at our game - I think wins or losses, at the end of the day, that's going to even out,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said following Wednesday’s loss. “We're going to get some bounces, too. I think if you keep doing the right things, you're going to get rewarded, you're going to get wins. I thought we did a lot of good things. And sometimes it takes longer than what you would like it to, but if you keep doing that, we're going to get some bounces, too.”
Predators defenseman Adam Wilsby made his NHL debut on Wednesday night and registered one shot and one hit in 17:27 of ice time. Defenseman Nick Blankenburg made his Preds debut and skated 14:33 with two hits to his name.
Prior to Wednesday’s game, Wilsby and Blankenburg were recalled from Milwaukee, while defenseman Jeremy Lauzon was ruled week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Forward Michael McCarron was also placed on Injured Reserve with an upper-body injury.
Last Time Out:
Josi and Ryan O’Reilly scored in the first period for Nashville, while Juuse Saros made 20 saves in net. Josi’s goal gave him 11 points in his past 10 games dating to Nov. 7. Per NHL PR, his four goals are tied for the second-most among all defenseman through that span, while his 11 points are tied with Zach Werenski for the most among all blueliners.
The Good Guys:
Josi now leads the Preds in scoring with 18 points (5g-13a), followed by Filip Forsberg with nine goals and 17 points. O’Reilly (4g-9a) has 13 points, Jonathan Marchessault (4g-8a) has 12 points and Steven Stamkos has seven goals and 11 points. Saros is 6-10-3 in net; Scott Wedgewood is 1-2-1.
The Opposition:
The Lightning have dropped three of their last four outings, including a 5-4 loss to Washington on Wednesday night. Nikita Kucherov has 12 goals and 33 points to lead Tampa Bay, followed by Brandon Hagel (9g-17a) with 26 points and Anthony Cirelli (9g-13a) with 22 points. Brayden Point has 15 goals for the Bolts; Jake Guentzel has nine goals and 21 points in his first season with the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy is 10-7-1 in net; Jonas Johansson is 1-1-1.
All-Time Meetings:
Nashville is 19-19-(2)-5 all-time against Tampa Bay, including a 11-8-(0)-4 record at Bridgestone Arena.
The Predators are 1-2-2 in their last five games against the Lightning; they are 3-5-2 in their last 10; and 2-2-1 in their last five at Bridgestone Arena.
Nashville did not suffer a regulation loss to Tampa Bay from Feb. 27, 2014-Dec. 3, 2019, a 13-game span (10-0-3).
Notables Versus Tampa Bay:
Steven Stamkos tallied two assists against the Lightning in his first game against his former team. Stamkos won two Stanley Cups (2020-21), two Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophies (2009-10 and 2011-12) and the Mark Messier Leadership Award (2022-23) with the Lightning.
Roman Josi has 20 points (6g-14a) and a plus-minus rating of +3 in 27 career games against the Lightning, including 11 points (4g-7a) in his last 15 contests.
Filip Forsberg has posted 18 points (8g-10a) in 23 games against the Lightning.
Jonathan Marchessault played two seasons (2014-16) with the Lightning. Marchessault appeared in 47 games with Tampa Bay, posting 19 points (8g-11a) in those contests. He has 14 points (8g-6a) in 16 games against the Lightning.
Luke Schenn won two Stanley Cups with Tampa Bay (2020-21) and played in 63 games for the Lightning across parts of two seasons from 2019-21.
Colton Sissons notched his first career regular-season hat trick on Jan. 5, 2017 vs. Tampa Bay and became the first player in NHL history to score at least three goals in a game with his second being an empty-netter and his third being scored on a goalie.
Milestone Watch:
The Predators franchise played its 2,000th game on Nov. 27 vs. Philadelphia; it is seven wins from 1,000.
Jonathan Marchessault is one point from 500 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.
Ryan O’Reilly is two assists from 500 and four games from 1,100 in his NHL career.
Filip Forsberg is four games from passing Martin Erat (723) for the fourth-most in franchise history; 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.
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for today’s contest begins at 1:30 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.)
