The Nashville Predators are back on the road for a swing through eastern Canada, and it begins tonight when they face the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena for a 6:30 p.m. CT puck drop. This evening’s contest is the first of two meetings between the Preds and Leafs this season; they’ll meet again in Nashville in March.
The Predators have collected a point in each of their last three outings, but they’ve all come as 3-2 overtime losses, a trend Nashville is very much interested in reversing tonight.
“We just have to stay focused building our game,” Preds goaltender Juuse Saros said following Tuesday’s practice. “It doesn't matter what the situation is, we kind of have to stay true to ourselves, and obviously we need to get points. That's a hard fact. But just kind of be honest to yourselves and play our best. That's obviously easier said than done, but it's a simple plan.”
Predators forward Michael McCarron (IR, upper body) was on the ice for practice on Tuesday in Nashville. Defenseman Jeremy Lauzon (lower body, week-to-week) was absent.
Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said he’s considering McCarron day-to-day at this point, and the centerman will continue to be evaluated to see if and when he might get back into the lineup on the trip.
Last Time Out:
Fedor Svechkov scored his first NHL goal, and Ryan O’Reilly tallied on the power play in Nashville’s 3-2 OT loss in Minnesota on Saturday night. Juuse Saros took the loss in net, while Justus Annunen served as the backup goaltender after being acquired from Colorado for Scott Wedgewood prior to Saturday’s game.
Preds Captain Roman Josi continued his offensive outburst; he became the first player in Predators history to record a point streak of at least five games 20 different times. The only active defensemen with as many five-plus game point streaks are Brent Burns (24) and Erik Karlsson (22). Josi has also recorded 108 career multi-assist games – the second most among all defenseman since making his NHL debut in 2011-12 and behind only Erik Karlsson (123).
The Good Guys:
Josi continues to lead the Preds in scoring (7g-15a) with 22 points, followed by Filip Forsberg (9g-8a) with 17 points and O’Reilly (5g-9a) with 14 points. Steven Stamkos has seven goals on the season; Gustav Nyquist has six and Jonathan Marchessault has four. Saros is 6-10-5 with a .911 save percentage; Annunen had a 6-4-0 record with Colorado.
The Opposition:
The Maple Leafs have won six of their last seven games, including a 4-1 victory over Chicago on Monday night. Mitch Marner (9g-24) leads the Leafs with 33 points, followed by William Nylander (15g-11a) with 26 points and John Tavares (11g-11a) with 22 points. Auston Matthews recently returned from injury and has six goals and 14 points in 15 games. Anthony Stolarz is 8-4-2 in net; Joseph Woll is 6-2-0.
All-Time Meetings:
The Predators are 15-14-(1)-2 all-time against the Maple Leafs, including an 8-8-(1)-1 record on the road.
The Predators are 2-3-0 in their last five games against the Maple Leafs; they are 4-6-0 in their last 10; and 1-3-1 in their last five on the road.
In 2018-19, the Predators shut out the Maple Leafs in both of their two meetings. Nashville became the second team in NHL history to sweep a season series with the Maple Leafs (minimum two games) with shutout wins in each game (also: Philadelphia in 1992-93).
On Nov. 18, 2014, 15 Preds skaters reached the scoresheet, led by Taylor Beck's two goals and an assist, as Nashville tied a franchise record for goals in a game, topping Toronto 9-2 at Scotiabank Arena.
Notables Versus Toronto:
Steven Stamkos has played against his hometown team 52 times in his career. He has tallied 66 points (23g-43a), the 43 helpers are the most he has against any single franchise in his career. Stamkos is currently on a 10-game points streak against the Leafs (3g-14a), including a four-point effort on Dec. 9, 2021 in Toronto.
Filip Forsberg broke David Legwand’s record for most goals in Predators history by scoring his 211th on March 19, 2022 against Toronto. He owns eight goals and 15 points in 15 career games vs. the Maple Leafs.
Gustav Nyquist has skated in 32 career games against Toronto, recording 22 points (11g-11a). The 22 points are the second-most he has against any single franchise.
Ryan O’Reilly played the final 13 games of the 2022-23 regular season with the Maple Leafs, where he had four goals and 11 points. He added nine points (3g-6a) in 11 postseason games.
Luke Schenn was selected by Toronto in the first round (fifth overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft. He played in 325 games across parts of five seasons for the Maple Leafs (2008-12; 2022-23) and posted 76 points (15g-61a).
O’Reilly (Clinton), Stamkos (Markham), Luke Evangelista (Toronto) and Mark Jankowski (Hamilton) are Ontario natives.
Milestone Watch:
Jonathan Marchessault is one point from 500 in his NHL career.
Luke Schenn is one point from 200 in his NHL career.
Tommy Novak is one point from 100 in his NHL career.
Filip Forsberg (723) is one game from passing Martin Erat (723) for the fourth-most in franchise history; is three power-play goals (78) from passing Shea Weber (80) for the most in Predators history; and is four goals from 300 in his NHL career.
Ryan O’Reilly is two assists from 500 and two games from 1,100 in his NHL career.
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for tonight’s game begins at 6 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on FanDuel Sports Network 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. 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.)
