The Nashville Predators (5-7-0) conclude their five-game road trip with a matchup against the Winnipeg Jets (6-4-2) on Thursday at Canada Life Centre.
Puck drop is 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 Tuesday’s game at Calgary:
Forsberg - O’Reilly - Nyquist
Sherwood - Novak - Evangelista
Trenin - Pärssinen - Sissons
Foudy - McCarron - Smith
Josi - Fabbro
Lauzon - Carrier
Del Gaizo - Barrie
Saros
Lankinen
Scratches: Fagemo, Tomasino, McDonagh
IR: Schenn, Glass
LAST TIME OUT
Nashville moved to 2-5-0 on the road in 2023-24 and 1-3-0 on their current five-game road trip with a 4-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. Juuse Saros made a season-high 35 saves, including 17 in the first period.
Michael McCarron opened the scoring for Nashville with his first goal of the season, assisted by Liam Foudy (2) and Marc Del Gaizo (2). Kiefer Sherwood’s third goal of the campaign gave Nashville a 2-0 lead at 14:34 of the first period; his linemates, Luke Evangelista (7) and Tommy Novak (4) assisted on the goal. Roman Josi led the Predators in TOI (26:34), shots (4) and blocked shots (4).
ALL-TIME MEETINGS
The Predators are 28-19-(1)-6 all-time against the Jets franchise, including an 11-10-(1)-5 record on the road. This is the first of four matchups between Nashville and Winnipeg in 2023-24 and the first of two at Canada Life Centre.
Nashville went 1-1-2 against Winnipeg last season, with two of the four meetings requiring overtime. The Predators picked up two points in a 2-1 victory at Bridgestone Arena on Jan. 24, 2023, behind 32 saves from Saros.
NOTABLES VS. WINNIPEG
- Josi tied the Predators franchise record for assists and points in a game with five on Feb. 27, 2018 at Winnipeg. He has 25 points (4g-21a) in 34 career games vs. the Jets.
- Filip Forsberg recorded a five-game point streak (5a) vs. Winnipeg from March 13, 2018-March 1, 2019. He has picked up at least one point in 11 of his last 20 contests against the Jets and has posted 20 points (4g-16a) in 33 career games vs. Winnipeg.
- Colton Sissons made his NHL debut on Jan. 28, 2014 at Winnipeg.
- Novak notched his first career three-point game on Oct. 23, 2021 at Winnipeg (3a).
- The Predators acquired a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft from Winnipeg for forward Nino Niederreiter on Feb. 25, 2023. Niederreiter tallied 28 points (18g-10a) in 56 games for Nashville to begin the 2022-23 season.
THE GOOD GUYS
Filthy Forsberg: Forsberg leads Nashville in points with 12 (2g-10a) after a three-point performance on Saturday against the Oilers (1g-2a). It is the fastest he reached the 10-assist mark to begin a season in his NHL career (11 GP). Forsberg is also 14th among all NHL skaters in shot attempts (90).
Tommy Hockey: Novak has points in six of his last seven games (4g-4a). He notched his second multi-point game of the season on Saturday at Edmonton (1g-1a). With an assist on Tuesday at Calgary, he reached 60 career NHL points in his 90th game; among players to debut with Nashville, only Forsberg reached the 60-point mark faster (89 GP).
Sizzlin’ Hot: Sissons is third on the Predators in goals with five; he had 12 goals in 82 games last season. Sissons has scored twice and has three points (2g-1a) in his last six games.
Out for Vange-ance: Evangelista has eight points (1g-7a) in his last eight games, including two multi-point efforts. He’s tied for the lead in points among NHL rookies with eight (1g-7a).
Captain Clutch: Josi has points in seven of his last nine games (2g-6a), including a four-game point streak from Oct. 28-Nov. 4 (2g-3a). He scored his first goal of the season, the OT winner, on Oct. 28 vs. Toronto, and added his first power-play goal of the campaign on Nov. 2 at Seattle. Per NHL EDGE, Josi has skated the 10th-longest total distance among NHL defensemen this season (43.05 miles).
Factor 1,000: Ryan O’Reilly recorded his fifth career NHL hat trick on Saturday at Edmonton in a four-point effort (3g-1a). He now has seven points (5g-2a) in his last five games. His seven goals from the high-danger zone are tied for the second-most in the NHL per NHL EDGE.
On the Attack: Through 12 games, the Predators are eighth in the NHL in expected goal percentage (5-on-5) at 53.9 percent per MoneyPuck.com. Nashville is also tied for fourth in high-danger shots for (28) and is 12th in expected goals for per 60 minutes (2.57).
Power Play: The Predators are tied for eighth in the NHL in power-play goals with 11; they are 12th in power-play percentage at 22.5 percent. Nashville has scored multiple power-play goals in the same game four times this season and is operating at 28.6 percent on the power play in its last nine games, going 10-for-35 in that span. Forsberg leads the team with six power-play points (1g-5a), while Novak and O’Reilly share the team lead in power-play goals (4); both are tied for third in the NHL in the category.
THE OTHER GUYS
The Jets sit at third place in the Central Division and are looking for their third straight win after defeating division rivals Arizona and St. Louis. Kyle Connor scored twice, and Mark Scheifele added a goal and an assist to help the visiting Jets beat the Blues 5-2 on Tuesday. Neil Pionk and Cole Perfetti also scored, and Connor Hellebuyck made 20 saves as the Jets won their second consecutive game after dropping three in a row.
Connor (8g-4a) and Schiefele (5g-7a) share the Jets team lead in points with 12, and Connor’s eight goals are also a team high. Josh Morrissey has dished out a team-leading nine assists.
WATCH & LISTEN
Coverage for Saturday’s game begins at 6:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on Bally Sports South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic and analyst Chris Mason will have the call on the television side.
Max Herz and Hal Gill will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network, with pregame, postgame and intermission coverage by Chase McCabe and Pete Weber 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.)
