The Nashville Predators (4-8-1) will conclude their back-to-back set on the road tonight in Florida as they take on the Panthers (9-3-1) at Amerant Bank Arena for a 6 p.m. CT puck drop.
The Preds will be looking to rebound from a 3-2 loss in Washington last night, but although the visitors didn’t find the win column, a much-improved showing provides plenty to build on this evening.
“The effort was there,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said following Wednesday’s loss. “I thought we did a lot of good things. Trying to build our game is not easy right now, obviously, or nothing's really coming easy. But, I like that we pushed [and we were] determined. We didn't get the result, but I think you leave the rink, you should feel pretty good about yourself.”
Predators forward Tommy Novak, who was set to play Wednesday night in Washington, ended up as a late scratch and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Evangelista took Novak’s spot in the lineup and registered one assist.
In addition to Novak, forward Mark Jankowski and defenseman Dante Fabbro were scratched for Nashville. Forwards Michael McCarron and Philip Tomasino re-entered the Preds lineup on Wednesday.
Colton Sissons left the game and did not return after blocking a shot near his hand in the second period. The Preds later announced the centerman has an upper-body injury.
Last Time Out:
Steven Stamkos and Juuso Parssinen scored for Nashville on Wednesday, and goaltender Juuse Saros made 33 saves in the loss. Stamkos now has goals in two of his last three games, and Parssinen’s tally was his first of the season.
“I thought that was probably his best game,” Brunette said of Stamkos. “I really thought he was on the puck, and he had the puck, and he just seemed in sync a little bit. So, that’s really good to see.”
The Good Guys:
Filip Forsberg (6g-4a) and Ryan O’Reilly (3g-7a) are tied for the team lead with 10 points apiece, followed by Gustav Nyquist (4g-3a), Jonathan Marchessault (2g-5a) and Roman Josi (1g-6a) with seven points each. Saros is 3-7-1 in net; Scott Wedgewood is 1-1-0.
The Opposition:
The defending Stanley Cup Champions are returning home after collecting a pair of wins over Dallas at the NHL Global Series in Finland. Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers with 10 goals and 21 points in just 13 games, followed by Sam Bennett (8g-5a) and Anton Lundell (6g-7a) with 13 points each. Sergei Bobrovsky has a 6-2-1 record in net; Spencer Knight is 3-1-0.
All-Time Meetings:
Nashville is 21-20-(3)-2 all-time against Florida, including an 11-10-(1)-1 record on the road.
The Predators are 3-2-0 in their last five games against the Panthers; they are 6-4-0 in their last 10; and 6-4-0 in their last 10 games at Amerant Bank Arena.
Notables Versus Florida:
Steven Stamkos has recorded 81 points (41g-40a) in 67 career games against the Panthers. That is the highest amount of points he has totaled against a single franchise in his career. It is also the second-most career points any player in NHL history has ever recorded against Florida (Alex Ovechkin; 44g-45a-89p).
Filip Forsberg has 23 points (7g-16a) in 21 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). Forsberg has seven points (3g-4a) in his last four games against the Panthers.
Roman Josi has 25 points (8g-17a) in 26 career games vs. 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.
Milestone Watch:
Luke Schenn is one point from 200 in his NHL career.
Tommy Novak is one point from 100 in his NHL career.
Steven Stamkos (216) is two power-play goals from passing Mike Gartner and Jaromir Jagr (217) for the 11th-most in NHL history.
Filip Forsberg (77) is four power-play goals from passing Shea Weber (80) for the most in Predators history.
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for tonight’s game begins at 5:30 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.)
