Game Day: Preds vs. Penguins Preview

The Nashville Predators (29-22-6) will close out their February slate with a home matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins (29-21-9) Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena.
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 Sunday at Arizona:
Granlund - Novak - Duchene
Sanford - Glass - Tomasino
Smith - Sissons
Trenin - Sherwood
McDonagh - Josi
Ekholm - Carrier
Gravel - Lauzon
Fabbro
Saros
* The Predators iced 17 skaters, including just 10 forwards, after Tanner Jeannot was held out of the lineup for trade-related reasons. Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced later that evening that Jeannot had been traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for five draft picks and defenseman Cal Foote.

Last Time Out

Nashville improved to 13-12-3 on the road in 2022-23 with Sunday's win at Arizona. The Preds have won back-to-back games by a 6-2 score, and their 26 goals since Feb. 18 are the most in the NHL in that time span.
Three Predators players had three-point nights with another three picking up two points each. It was Matt Duchene's second straight three-point game, while Roman Josi (2g-1a) and Tommy Novak (1g-2a) both extended their point streaks to five games. Alexandre Carrier returned to the lineup after missing nine games with an upper-body injury (Jan. 26-Feb. 23).

All-Time Meetings

The Predators are 14-13-(2)-4 all-time against the Penguins, including a 9-5-(0)-3 record at Bridgestone Arena. This is the first of two matchups between Nashville and Pittsburgh in 2022-23 and the first and only at home.
Nashville went 1-0-1 against Pittsburgh last season, earning a 4-1 win at home and taking a point in a 3-2 overtime loss on the road.
The Predators are 2-2-1 in their last five games against the Penguins; they are 4-4-2 in their last 10; and 3-1-1 in their last five at home. Nashville faced Pittsburgh in the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, falling in six games, 4-2. It was Nashville's first-ever trip to the Cup Final.

Notables vs. Pittsburgh

• Juuse Saros recorded his first career NHL win on Oct. 22, 2016 vs. the Penguins.
• Duchene has 14 points (9g-5a) in 22 career games against Pittsburgh.
• Mikael Granlund owns nine points (5g-4a) in 15 career meetings with the Penguins.
• Zach Sanford made his NHL debut on Oct. 13, 2016 at Pittsburgh.
• Jeremy Lauzon's brother, Zachary, was drafted by Pittsburgh in the second round (51st overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft.
• Head Coach John Hynes served as head coach of Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, for five seasons from 2010-15.
• Defense Development Coach Rob Scuderi was an alternate captain on Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup-winning squad in 2009.

The Good Guys

• Saros is 20-10-4 with a 2.62 goals-against average and .922 save percentage in his last 34 games dating back to Nov. 12. His 20 wins in that time frame are tied for the second-most in the NHL.
• Josi owns the Predators team lead in points with 54 (17g-37a). He has 50 points (16g-34a) in his last 48 games after recording three points on Sunday at Arizona (2g-1a). Josi has recorded at least one point in 20 of his last 24 contests and is currently on a five-game point streak (4g-6a), a run that has included three multi-point efforts on Feb. 18 vs. Florida (1g-2a), Feb. 19 at Minnesota (1g-1a) and Sunday at Arizona (2g-1a).
• Duchene has 28 points (12g-16a) in his last 29 games, including two consecutive three-point efforts on Thursday at San Jose (3a) and Sunday at Arizona (1g-2a). He's recorded points in eight of his last 12 games (7g-8a), tallying multiple points in five of those outings.
• Novak has 22 points (9g-13a) in 26 games with Nashville since being recalled from Milwaukee (AHL) on Dec. 19. He recorded his first career multi-goal game on Feb. 18 vs. Florida (2g), followed it up with a season-high three points on Feb. 19 at Minnesota (1g-2a) and tallied another three-point effort on Sunday at Arizona (1g-2a). Novak is currently on a five-game point streak (5g-6a).

The Other Guys

The Penguins enter Tuesday's game riding back-to-back wins, including a 7-3 defeat of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday. They are 5-5-0 in their last 10 games, including four consecutive losses from Feb. 17-23.
The last time Pittsburgh won a game in regulation on the road was Feb. 14 at San Jose. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby holds the team lead in goals (26), assists (45) and total points (71), and he has four points in his last five games (1g-3a).

Watch & Listen

Coverage for Thursday'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.