The Nashville Predators are on the road for the first time this season, and they’ll face the Detroit Red Wings tonight at Little Caesars Arena for a 6 p.m. CT puck drop. This evening’s contest is the first of two meetings between the clubs this season, with the second matchup set to take place next Saturday in Nashville.
Both clubs will be looking for their first win of the campaign tonight; the Preds fell to the Dallas Stars by a 4-3 final in their season opener on Thursday, and the Wings dropped a 6-3 decision at home to Pittsburgh on Thursday to start their season.
Despite the final score, Nashville outplayed the Stars for a majority of Thursday’s outing, and they almost completed a third-period comeback after entering the final 20 minutes down by three goals.
Now, after plenty of reason for optimism following the season debut, the Predators will turn their attention to Detroit as they look to build on what they started 48 hours earlier.
“First period of the first game is always kind of just, you don't know what to expect,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said following Thursday’s loss. “It's fast, everybody’s fired up, so I thought we settled in pretty well. I think maybe some puck management in the second period, a couple mistakes we made, but other than that, I thought overall we did a lot of good things, and a lot of things to build on and get back at it on Saturday.”
The Predators did not practice on Friday, but they did reassign goaltender Matt Murray to Milwaukee (AHL). Murray served as the backup netminder to Scott Wedgewood in Nashville’s opener; Juuse Saros (lower-body, day-to-day) did not dress for the Preds on Thursday.
Last Time Out:
Filip Forsberg, Tommy Novak and Ryan O’Reilly all found the back of the net for Nashville against Dallas, while Forsberg also added an assist on O’Reilly’s tally. Newcomer Jonathan Marchessault assisted on Forsberg’s marker, which came on a power play in the second period, and then on O’Reilly’s goal with the extra attacker late in the third.
Steven Stamkos recorded three shots on goal and 23:01 of ice time - second only to Josi - in his Predators debut. Wedgewood made 16 saves for Nashville in the loss.
Per NHL PR, Filip Forsberg became the first player with a point in nine consecutive season-opening games since Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin (both 9 GP from 2008-09 – 2016-17).
The Good Guys:
Josi and Luke Evangelista also added an assist each in Thursday’s loss; Forsberg and Marchessault are tied for the team lead with two points through one game.
The Opposition:
Alex DeBrincat led the Red Wings with two goals and an assist in their 6-3 loss to the Penguins to start the season. Vladimir Tarasenko also scored for Detroit, and Lucas Raymond added a pair of assists on Thursday. Goaltender Ville Husso started and took the loss for the Wings; Cam Talbot came on in relief.
All-Time Meetings:
The Predators are 46-52-(4)-11 all-time against the Red Wings, including a 19-28-(2)-8 record on the road.
The Predators are 10-3-1 in their last 14 games against the Red Wings including six wins in a row from Feb. 23, 2021 - Jan. 22, 2022, the franchise’s longest-ever win streak vs. the Red Wings.
Nashville is 5-2-1 in their last eight road contests against Detroit, outscoring the Red Wings 28-19 in those games.
On Feb. 28, 2009, the Predators defeated the Red Wings, 8-0, at Bridgestone Arena, tied for the largest margin of victory in a game in franchise history.
Notables Versus Detroit:
Steven Stamkos has tallied the second-most goals against the Red Wings of any active skater in the NHL with 23 (Alex Ovechkin’s 24 goals rank first).
Jonathan Marchessault recorded a hat trick in his most recent game against the Red Wings. His 11 career goals against Detroit are tied for the second-most he has scored against any NHL team.
Roman Josi has a team-high 28 points (3g-25a) in 38 career games vs. the Red Wings; Filip Forsberg has posted 21 points (10g-11a) in 23 career meetings with Detroit.
Juuse Saros is 8-2-1 with a 1.76 goals-against average, .935 save percentage and two shutouts in 12 career games against the Red Wings.
Gustav Nyquist was selected by Detroit in the fourth round (121st overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft. He played the first 481 games of his NHL career with the Red Wings from 2011-19, recording 295 points (125g-170a).
Michael McCarron is a Grosse Pointe, Michigan, native and played for the Honeybaked AAA program and the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.
Milestone Watch:
Filip Forsberg is one game from 700 in his NHL career.
Luke Schenn is two points from 200 and three games from 1,000 in his NHL career.
Gustav Nyquist is two goals from 200 in his NHL career.
Tommy Novak is four points from 100 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 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. 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.)
