Game Day: Preds vs. Blue Jackets Preview

Less than 24 hours after handing a loss to the Calgary Flames, the Nashville Predators (20-17-6) will host the Columbus Blue Jackets (13-28-2) to wrap up a back-to-back home set Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena.
Originally scheduled for Nov. 26, the game was postponed due to flooding at Bridgestone Arena and rescheduled for Tuesday.
The puck drops at 7 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on Bally Sports South, 102.5 The Game and El Jefe Radio. Here's everything you need to know:

Line 'Em Up

Below are Nashville's lines from Monday's game vs. Calgary:
Forsberg - Glass - Duchene
Niederreiter - Johansen - Granlund
Smith - Parssinen - Sissons
Trenin - Novak - Jeannot
McDonagh - Josi
Ekholm - Carrier
Lauzon - Fabbro
Saros

The Good Guys

• Goaltender Juuse Saros was named to the Central Division's squad for the 2023 NHL All-Star Game in Sunrise, Fla. on Feb. 4. Saros is 13-6-4 with a 2.36 goals-against average and .932 save percentage in his last 23 games dating back to Nov. 12. He's made at least 30 saves in 14 of his last 22 games, and he's faced at least 30 shots in 17 of those outings.
• Filip Forsberg has 34 points (16g-18a) in his last 36 games dating back to Oct. 22 vs. Philadelphia. He became the quickest player in Predators history to reach the 500-point mark, doing so in his 601st career game Dec. 31 at Vegas. He has nine goals and 12 points in his last 10 games, including goals in three straight games from Jan. 9-12 (3g). He's up to 34 career three-point games, the most in Predators history.
• Roman Josi has 31 points (11g-20a) in his last 33 games after scoring a goal Monday vs. Calgary, and he has recorded at least one point in eight of his last 10 outings. His 35 points (12g-23a) are the ninth-most by an NHL defensemen in 2022-23.
• Juuso Parssinen, who made his NHL debut on Nov. 12, has 18 points (5g-13a) in his first 29 career NHL games. With a goal Monday vs. Calgary, Parssinen extended his point streak to seven games (2g-7a), tying Forsberg for the longest point streak by a rookie in franchise history. Per NHL PR, Parssinen's nine points (2g-7a) in eight games played since the calendar flipped to 2023 trail only Seattle Kraken rookie Matty Beniers' 11 (6g-5a) for the most points among all rookies over that span.
• Jeremy Lauzon scored his career-high third goal of the season on Saturday vs. Buffalo. He now has five points (3g-2a) and a +7 rating in his last 11 games; his 50 hits since Dec. 27 are the second-most in the NHL over that time span.

The Other Guys

The Blue Jackets are coming off a 3-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Sunday and are currently in last place in the Metropolitan Division with 28 points.
Johnny Gaudreau leads Columbus with 41 points (12g-29), and he is tied with Patrik Laine with a team-high 12 goals. Laine has six points (3g-3a) in his last five games, including a hat trick against the Detroit Red Wings on Jan. 14. Rookie winger Kirill Marchenko has scored nine goals in 20 games for the Blue Jackets this season, including four in his last five games.

All-Time Meetings

The Predators are 66-23-(1)-8 all-time against the Blue Jackets, including a 40-6-(1)-3 record at Bridgestone Arena. This is the second and final matchup between Nashville and Columbus in 2022-23 and the first and only at home. Nashville is 0-1-0 against Columbus this season, dropping a 5-3 result away from home on Oct. 20.
Nashville's 66 all-time wins against Columbus are its most against a single opponent in franchise history. In the Preds' 50 home games vs. Columbus, they've only lost six times in regulation, with two of those losses coming in the first three matchups between the two teams. Nashville's 40 wins against Columbus at Bridgestone Arena are its most against a single NHL opponent on home ice.

Notables vs. Columbus

• Forsberg owns two career hat tricks against Columbus, including his first career four-goal game on Nov. 30, 2021. He has 20 points (12g-8a) in 23 career meetings with the Blue Jackets, including points in eight of his last 13 games vs. Columbus.
• Mattias Ekholm has four points (2g-2a) in his last eight games vs. Columbus; following his two-goal performance on Feb. 27, 2021, he now has 11 points (5g-6a) in 21 career meetings with the Blue Jackets.
• In addition to posting 23 points (7g-16a) in 38 career games against Columbus, Matt Duchene played in 23 games for the Blue Jackets in 2018-19, recording 12 points (4g-8a).
• Josi has picked up 17 points (4g-13a) in 31 contests against the Blue Jackets, including two multi-point efforts in 2020-21.
• Ryan Johansen was selected by Columbus in the first round (fourth overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft. He has 10 points (4g-6a) in 17 career meetings with his former team.
• Assistant Coach Dan Hinote served in the same position with Columbus from 2010-14; he also was a pro scout for the Blue Jackets from 2014-18.
• Assistant Coach Todd Richards was Columbus' head coach for parts of five seasons from 2012-15.

Last Time Out

Nashville improved to 10-7-3 at home in 2022-23 with Monday's win over Calgary. The Predators are now 2-0-0 against the Flames this season.
Nashville killed off all four of Calgary's power-play opportunities, and Juuse Saros made 38 saves in the win; it was his fifth win with at least 35 saves this season, the third-most among NHL goalies. Josi scored to give him goals in each of his last two games (2g), and Parssinen scored the game-winner and pushed his point streak to seven games.

Watch & Listen

Coverage for Tuesday's game begins at 6:30 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 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. The game will also be broadcast in Spanish on El Jefe which airs on 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM.