Game Day: Preds vs. Avalanche Preview

The Nashville Predators will look to put Wednesday's 3-0 shutout loss to the Detroit Red Wings in the rearview mirror as they return home for a Central Division matchup against the Colorado Avalanche Friday at Bridgestone Arena.
The puck drops at 1 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on Bally Sports South and 102.5 The Game. Here's everything you need to know:

Line 'Em Up

Below are Nashville's lines from Wednesday's game at Detroit:
Forsberg - Pärssinen - Granlund
Jeannot - Sissons - Duchene
Smith - Johansen - Niederreiter
Jankowski - Glass - McCarron
McDonagh - Josi
Ekholm - Carrier
Lauzon - Fabbro
Lankinen

The Good Guys

• Roman Josi has 15 points (4g-11a) in his last 13 games after tallying two points (1g-1a) on Monday vs. Arizona.
• After recording his 12th assist of the season on Monday vs. Arizona, Filip Forsberg leads Nashville in points with 19 (7g-12a) and has four multi-point outings in his last 12 games.
• John Hynes won his 100th game as Predators head coach on Nov. 17 vs. the New York Islanders. It was also his 250th career NHL win, moving him into a tie with Don Cherry and Milt Schmidt for 64th on the NHL's all-time list.
• Juuso Parssinen, who made his NHL debut on Nov. 12 vs. the Rangers, has five points (3g-2a) in his first six career NHL games.
• Nino Niederreiter has nine goals and 11 points in his first 20 games with the Predators to begin 2022-23.
• Mikael Granlund has opened 2022-23 with 13 assists and 15 points in his first 20 games. He has eight points (1g-7a) in his last 11 games.
• Among NHL players who have taken at least 300 faceoffs, Ryan Johansen is second at 62.5 percent. Johansen won at least 50 percent of his faceoffs in a franchise-record 23 consecutive games, a streak that came to an end Wednesday at Detroit
• Colton Sissons is second in the NHL in shorthanded faceoffs won (42).

The Other Guys

The Avalanche (11-6-1) had a three-game win streak snapped on Wednesday with a 4-3 loss to Vancouver. Mikko Rantanen buried his team-leading 12th and 13th goals of the season in the loss and is tied with Nathan MacKinnon for the team lead in points with 28 (13g-15a).
With two assists, Artturi Lehkonen extended his career-best point streak to eight games, in which he totaled 10 points (4g-6a) in that span.

All-Time Meetings

The Predators are 47-34-(5)-3 all-time against the Avalanche, including a 24-15-(3)-1 record at Bridgestone Arena. This is the second of four matchups between Nashville and Colorado in 2022-23; it is the first of two at home.
Nashville is 0-1-0 vs. Colorado this season after dropping the first meeting between the two, 5-3, on Nov. 10. The Preds went 3-1-0 vs. Colorado last season but were swept by the Avs in the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Notables vs. Colorado

• Matt Duchene was drafted third overall by the Avalanche in the 2009 NHL Draft. He recorded 428 points (178g-250a) in nine seasons with Colorado from 2009-17. Duchene has nine goals and 10 points in 10 career games against his former team.
• Josi recorded a 12-game point streak vs. Colorado (5g-11a) from March 28, 2016-Jan. 21, 2019. He's recorded a point in 28 of his 39 career games against the Avalanche, tallying 14 goals and 38 points.
• Sissons posted a career-high three assists on Dec. 16, 2021 vs. the Avs. He has 14 points (8g-6a) in 20 career regular-season games vs. Colorado.
• Forsberg notched his fourth career hat trick on Feb. 23, 2017 vs. the Avalanche. He's averaged more than a point per game in his career against Colorado, recording 33 points (16g-17a) in 30 games, including five game-winning goals.
• Granlund skated in his first career NHL game and scored his first career NHL goal on Jan. 19, 2013 vs. Colorado.
• Predators Assistant Coach Dan Hinote won the 2001 Stanley Cup as a player for the Avalanche.
• Colorado defenseman Samuel Girard was selected by the Predators in the second round (47th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft. He skated in five games for Nashville in 2017-18, tallying three points (1g-2a).

Last Time Out

Nashville moved to 3-6-0 on the road in 2022-23 with Wednesday's loss to Detroit. The loss brought Nashville's six-game win streak against Detroit to an end as the Predators were shut out for the second time this season (Oct. 29 vs. Washington).
Despite the loss, Nashville owned a 64-48 advantage in shot attempts and forced the Red Wings into 17 giveaways. Goaltender Kevin Lankinen made his first start since Nov. 10 at Colorado.

Watch & Listen

Coverage for Friday's game begins at 12:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! Pregame show on Bally Sports South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley alongside analyst Hal Gill. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic and analyst Chris Mason will have the call on the television side.
Pete Weber and J-P Dumont will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network. The game will also be broadcast in Spanish on El Jefe which airs on 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM.