The Nashville Predators will conclude a back-to-back set tonight - as well as their father’s trip - with a visit to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena for a 6 p.m. CT puck drop. This evening’s contest is the second and final meeting between the two this season; the Preds fell to the Pens in Nashville back in December.
Last night in Buffalo, the Preds started the trip with a 4-3 loss to the Sabres. Nashville liked stretches of their game, but they say untimely mistakes caught them in the end.
“I think if we play how we did for stretches in that game, we'll be just fine,” Preds defenseman Brady Skjei said following last night’s loss. “I think we were dominating the game, and holding onto pucks and making plays. Just got to try to do that for a full 60 minutes instead of 40, or whatever it was tonight. So, we’ve got to move past it, and we’ve got a big game [tonight] against Pittsburgh.”
Prior to Friday’s game, the Predators recalled goaltender Matt Murray from Milwaukee to back up Justus Annunen after Juuse Saros was scratched due to illness. Nashville also reassigned defenseman Kevin Gravel to the Admirals and activated Luke Evangelista from IR. Vinnie Hinostroza was Nashville’s lone healthy scratch against the Sabres.
Last Time Out:
Luke Evangelista, Skjei and Tommy Novak all tallied on Friday in Buffalo, and Annunen took the loss in net. Ryan O'Reilly (296g-504a) tallied an assist to become the third member of the 2009 NHL Draft class to record 800 points behind John Tavares (1,082) and Matt Duchene (857).
The Good Guys:
Filip Forsberg continues to lead the Preds with 18 goals and 49 points on the season. Jonathan Marchessault has 15 goals and 38 points; Roman Josi has 26 helpers and 35 points. Steven Stamkos has 17 goals and 33 points, while O’Reilly has 14 tallies and 29 points. Saros is 11-20-6 on the season; Annunen is 12-7-0.
The Opposition:
Pittsburgh snapped a three-game skid with a 3-2 overtime victory in Utah on Wednesday to end a seven-game road trip. Sidney Crosby (16g-39a) leads the Penguins with 55 points, followed by Rickard Rakell with 23 goals and 43 points, and then Bryan Rust with 19 goals and 39 points. Evgeni Malkin, who has 34 points, is on Injured Reserve. Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic is 10-9-4 on the season; Joel Blomqvist is 3-7-0.
Late last night, the Penguins acquired the New York Rangers’ 2025 first-round draft pick (conditional), forward Danton Heinen, defenseman Vincent Desharnais, as well as 2024 third-round draft pick Melvin Fernstrom from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O’Connor.
All-Time Meetings:
The Predators are 15-16-(2)-5 all-time against the Penguins, including a 5-10-(2)-1 record on the road.
The Predators are 1-3-1 in their last five games against the Penguins; they are 3-5-2 in their last 10; and 2-2-1 in their last five on the road.
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 Versus Pittsburgh:
Steven Stamkos has 49 points (19g-30a) in 45 career games against Pittsburgh. Stamkos is riding a five-game point streak vs. Pittsburgh (5g-2a) and has found the scoresheet in 18 of the last 21 meetings (11g-16a).
Jonathan Marchessault has 15 points (6g-9a) in 14 career games against the Penguins.
Gustav Nyquist has 23 points (12g-11a) in 27 career games against the Penguins in his career.
Penguins forward Philip Tomasino was selected by Nashville in the first round (24th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft. He skated in 159 games for the Predators from 2021-24 and posted 71 points (23g-48a).
Pittsburgh forward Cody Glass played 121 games from 2021-24 for the Predators, totaling 49 points (20g-29a).
Penguins forward Anthony Beauvillier played the final 15 games for the 2023-24 season with Nashville, accumulating three points (1g-2a).
Milestone Watch:
Roman Josi (955) is two games from passing David Legwand (956) for the most in Predators history.
Steven Stamkos (572) is two goals from passing Mike Bossy (573) for the 23rd-most in NHL history and two assists from 600 in his career.
Vinnie Hinostroza is two assists from 100 in his NHL career.
Cole Smith is three games from 200 in his NHL career.
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.
Voice of the Preds Pete Weber 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.)
