Game Day: Preds vs. Wild Preview

Looking to keep the momentum from Saturday's win over the New York Rangers, the Nashville Predators host the Minnesota Wild for a Central Division battle Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena.
The puck drops at 7 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 Saturday's game against the Rangers:
Forsberg - Pärssinen - Granlund
Smith - Jankowski - Jeannot
Niederreiter - Johansen - Duchene
Tolvanen - Sissons - McCarron
Josi - Fabbro
Ekholm - Carrier
McDonagh - Lauzon
Saros

The Good Guys

• Forward Juuso Pärssinen, 21, made his NHL debut on Saturday against the Rangers and scored his first career NHL goal on his first shot. Pärssinen became the fifth Nashville skater to score in his NHL debut, joining Miikka Salomaki (2014-15), Kevin Henderson (2012-13), Craig Smith (2011-12) and Mikko Lehtonen (2006-07).
• Roman Josi has eight points (3g-5a) in his last eight games after assisting on Mark Jankowski's game-winning goal Saturday vs. the Rangers. He tallied four points (2g-2a) during Nashville's five-game road trip from Nov. 1-10, averaging a team-high 23:56 of ice time.
• Filip Forsberg (483) passed Martin Erat (481) and moved into sole possession of third place on the Predators' all-time points list on Nov. 8 at Seattle. After tallying an assist on Saturday against the Rangers, he leads Nashville in points with 15 (5g-10a) and has three multi-point outings in his last eight games. He is currently on a three-game point streak (1g-2a).
• Mikael Granlund has opened 2022-23 with 11 assists and 12 points in his first 15 games. He has five points (5a) in his last six games.
• Predators defensemen have taken 337 shot attempts, the fifth-most among all NHL teams. Nashville's 145 shots on goal from blueliners are tied for the eighth-most in the NHL.
• The Predators are fifth in the NHL in face-off percentage (53.7 percent). Among NHL players who have taken at least 200 faceoffs, Ryan Johansen is first at 64.6 percent. Johansen has won at least 50 percent of his faceoffs in a franchise-record 19 consecutive games.
• Colton Sissons is second in the NHL in shorthanded faceoffs won (33).

The Other Guys

The Wild (7-6-2) are coming off a shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks on Sunday. Prior to the loss, Minnesota won back-to-back games, including a 1-0 victory over the Seattle Kraken - Marc-Andre Fleury's 32nd career shutout win.
Kirill Kaprizov leads Minnesota with 17 points (10g-7a) through 15 games in 2022-23. His 10 goals are also a team high.

All-Time Meetings

The Predators are 42-26-(5)-9 all-time against the Wild, including a 25-9-(2)-5 record at Bridgestone Arena. This is the first of three matchups between Nashville and Minnesota in 2022-23 and the first of two at home.
Nashville went 3-0-1 vs. Minnesota last season and outscored the Wild by a combined 21-11. The Predators scored at least four goals in all four meetings with the Wild. Nashville has not lost in regulation to Minnesota on home ice since Dec. 15, 2016, a 10-game span.

Notables vs. Minnesota

• Josi tallied 12 points (4g-8a) in four games against the Wild last season. Two of his four four-point efforts in 2021-22 came against Minnesota.
• Forsberg scored his first career NHL goal on Oct. 8, 2013 vs. Minnesota. Forsberg's 16 goals against the Wild are tied for the most he's scored against a single opponent in his NHL career; he had 11 points (4g-7a) in four games against the Wild in 2021-22.
• Johansen has 26 points (11g-15a) in 32 career games vs. the Wild, including 16 points (9g-7a) in his last 15 meetings. He had six goals against Minnesota last season, including his first career hat trick on April 5, 2022.
• Matt Duchene has recorded 33 points (9g-24a) in 50 career games against the Wild.
• Granlund was acquired from Minnesota in February 2019; he played parts of seven seasons for the Wild from 2012-19 and posted 93 goals and 317 points.
• Nino Niederreiter spent parts of six seasons with the Wild from 2013-19.
• Ryan McDonagh was named Minnesota's "Mr. Hockey" as the state's best high school player in 2006-07.
• Assistant Coach Todd Richards served as head coach of the Wild for two seasons from 2009-11.
• Wild Head Coach Dean Evason served as head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals - Nashville's AHL affiliate - from 2012-18.
• Minnesota forwards Frederick Gaudreau (2016-19) and Ryan Hartman (2018-19) were previous members of the Predators.

Last Time Out

Nashville improved to 3-3-1 at home in 2022-23 with Saturday's win over the Rangers. It was the Predators' second win at Bridgestone Arena this season and first since Oct. 27 vs. St. Louis.
Juuso Pärssinen scored his first career NHL goal skating in his NHL debut, while Mark Jankowski scored his first game-winning goal with the Predators and has three points (2g-1a) in five games with Nashville in 2022-23. Juuse Saros made 34 saves, including 15 in the second period.
The game featured a combined 42 penalty minutes (NSH 22, NYR 20) and two fights. Nashville killed off a double-minor penalty with less than five minutes remaining in the third period to preserve the win.

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.