Members of the Nashville Predators inaugural roster will be back at 501 Broadway as the team’s current iteration takes on the Florida Panthers - the franchise’s first-ever opponent - during Inaugural Team Night presented by Opry on Monday. Click here to get tickets.
This is the first of two meetings with the Panthers this season and the only meeting at Bridgestone Arena.
Puck drop is at 7 p.m. CT with the game set to broadcast on Bally Sports South, 102.5 The Game and El Jefe Radio. Here’s everything you need to know:
LAST TIME OUT
Roman Josi passed Shea Weber for the most goals by a defenseman and the third-most among all skaters in franchise history (167) and Tommy Novak notched his eighth goal of the season in a 3-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes at Mullett Arena on Saturday.
Josi’s 167th career goal and ninth of the 2023-24 campaign extended the defenseman’s point streak to six games (1g-8a). Gustav Nyquist and Colton Sissons’ assists on Josi’s goal earned the forwards points in consecutive outings.
Novak’s third-period marker was the second goal in his last five games. Filip Forsberg collected his 27th assist of the season and Josi his 31st on the goal.
Juuse Saros made 21 saves in the loss and moved to 18-17-1 on the campaign.
The result saw Nashville conclude their three-game road trip at 1-2-0 and move to 25-20-1 on the season and 12-9-1 on the road.
THE GOOD GUYS
Forsberg leads the Predators in points (49) and goals (22); he is additionally 13th in points and tied for ninth in goals among NHL skaters.
Josi leads his club and is tied for sixth among League blueliners in assists (31); he is additionally sixth among NHL defensemen in points (40) and tied for seventh in goals (7).
After 36 games, Saros has recorded a 2.97 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage; the netminder is fourth among NHL goaltenders in wins (14) since Nov. 20. Kevin Lankinen is 6-3-0 after 13 games, with a 3.12 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage.
The Predators lead the NHL in hits (1,062) and hits per 60 minutes (22.96); defenseman Jeremy Lauzon leads the League in hits with 180.
Nashville is fourth in the Central Division with 51 points and a 13-11-0 record at Bridgestone Arena.
THE OTHER GUYS
Second in the Atlantic Division, the Panthers have struggled as of late, going 0-2-2 in their last four after recording a nine-game winning streak around the holidays.
Sam Reinhart leads the Cats in goals (33) and points (57); he is additionally second among NHL skaters in goals and 10th in points.
Panthers Captain Aleksander Barkov, who’s expected to miss his third-straight game with an unspecified lower-body injury, leads his team and is 10th among League skaters in assists (35).
Sergei Bobrovsky is 21-10-2 after 34 games played, with a 2.55 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage. Backup goaltender Anthony Stolarz is 6-4-2 after 13 games played, with a 2.22 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.
The Panthers have the second-fewest shots against per game in the League with 27.0 and the second-most shots per game with 34.1. They are additionally tied for fifth in the League for the fewest goals allowed (119).
Florida is second in both their division and the Eastern Conference with 58 points and a 14-7-2 record on the road; their 27 wins are tied for the fourth-most in the NHL.
ALL-TIME MEETINGS
The Predators are 20-19-(3)-2 all-time against the Panthers, including a 10-9-(2)-1 record at Bridgestone Arena.
The Predators are 3-2-0 in their last five games against the Panthers; they are 5-5-0 in their last 10; and 2-3-0 in their last five at home. Nashville went 2-0-0 against Florida last season, earning a 2-1 win on the road in the most recent meeting on March 2, 2023. In the last matchup at Bridgestone Arena, the Predators had six different goal scorers in a 7-3 victory on Feb. 18, 2023.
In front of a sell-out crowd of 17,298, the Predators played their first-ever NHL game against the Panthers on Oct. 10, 1998.
NOTABLES VS. FLORIDA
- Forsberg has 20 points (5g-15a) in 19 career games against Florida, with 10 of those points (3g-7a) coming in six contests in 2020-21. He recorded the first of his two career five-point games on Feb. 4, 2021 at Florida (2g-3a).
- Josi has 24 points (8g-16a) in 24 career games vs. Florida.
- Sissons went 16-for-16 in faceoffs on Feb. 22, 2022 at Florida, becoming the fourth NHL player since 1997-98 to take at least 16 faceoffs in a game and win them all.
- Yakov Trenin (Oct. 19, 2019) and Lankinen (Jan. 19, 2021) made their NHL debuts against Florida.
- Predators Head Coach Andrew Brunette served as Florida’s interim head coach for 75 games during the 2021-22 season, going 51-18-6 and earning a second-place finish for the Jack Adams Award.
- Nashville Assistant Coach Derek MacKenzie played the final five seasons of his NHL career with Florida from 2014-19, tallying 54 points (20g-34a) in 304 games. He captained the Panthers from 2016-18 and was an alternate captain from 2014-16.
- Florida forward Nick Cousins played in 120 games for Nashville from 2020-22, tallying 40 points (14g-26a).
LINE ‘EM UP
Below are Nashville’s line combinations from Saturday’s game against Arizona:
Forsberg - O'Reilly - Nyquist
Trenin - Sissons - Sherwood
Smith - Novak - Evangelista
Pärssinen - Glass - Gurianov
McDonagh - Josi
Lauzon - Carrier
Barrie - Schenn
Saros
Lankinen
Scratches: Fabbro, McCarron, Tomasino
MILESTONE WATCH
- Forsberg is one assist from 300 in his NHL career.
- Barrie is one game from 800 in his NHL career.
- Luke Schenn is four points from 200 in his NHL career.
PARTY LIKE IT’S 1998
Monday will see half of Nashville’s original roster welcomed back to Smashville for Inaugural Team Night presented by Opry, including an on-ice ceremonial puck drop.
The first 10,000 fans in attendance will receive a poster of the recently recreated Grand Ole Opry inaugural team photo featuring the 2023-24 roster. All fans in attendance will receive a custom inaugural team-themed digital collectible presented by Regions Bank.
Click here to learn more about Inaugural Team Night and click here to get tickets.
WATCH & LISTEN
Coverage for Monday’s game begins at 6:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on Bally Sports South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley and Hal Gill. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic, analysts Chris Mason and rinkside reporter Kara Hammer 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 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.)