Game Day: Preds at Red Wings Preview

Although it included a stop back home in Tennessee, the Nashville Predators will conclude a six-game trip - with two postponements - away from home with a pair of meetings against the Red Wings in Detroit starting tonight.
The Preds will be looking to build off a 4-2 victory against Columbus on Saturday night, a satisfying win that seems to have given the group a new sense of positivity as they look to improve their record and gain ground in the Central Division.
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"Our practice was really good [on Monday]," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said. "We went back to those same types of concepts [that have made us successful in the past], and I think that's what you want to continue to do. Whether you win or lose, it's about having that environment of getting better and 'here's what we did well and here's what we didn't do well.' But as far as those components [with our system], it's building on it, but it's nice to see the players get rewarded for it. That's the most buy-in you get right there. When you do it, you get rewarded for it, they see it works, and that's usually when things get legs and really continue to grow."
The Predators practiced Monday at Bridgestone Arena and were joined by forwards Ryan Johansen and Brad Richardson, both of whom remain on Injured Reserve. Hynes offered this update on the two forwards following the session:

"Both guys practiced full today. I have not talked with the trainers. There's a possibility that both could play tomorrow and Thursday, but I don't know. I think we'll probably make a decision either later today after talking to trainers…but both look good. I can't guarantee they'll be in, but they are options for sure."

Update: Following today's morning skate in Detroit, Hynes confirmed Johansen will return to the lineup tonight and will center Eeli Tolvanen and Nick Cousins. Richardson will not play tonight against the Red Wings.
Hynes had this to say about his forward line combinations for tonight's game: "We've just felt like there was some good chemistry between Forsberg, Granlund and Arvidsson for a couple games. I think Granlund's looked good in the middle, so we'd like to keep them together for chemistry purposes. Then, Duchene's line has played very well with Jarnkrok and Grimaldi; seems like that's been a few games now they've played very well, have some good chemistry, and now you have Joey, and that gives you an opportunity to put a really good centerman with Tolvanen and Cousins with Tolvy being a shooter and Johansen's ability to move the puck. So, we haven't tried a look like that. And then we just bumped Haula to the left side with Sissons and Kunin. So, rather than kind of disrupt all the lines, we felt like coming off a couple of games where we felt like we played really well, particularly Saturday night, rather than move things around, keep some lines that were playing really well together and see if we can get four lines all going at that same pace."

The Good Guys:
Calle Jarnkrok scored twice, while Colton Sissons and Filip Forsberg also tallied in Nashville's 4-2 win on Saturday night. Goaltender Pekka Rinne made 21 saves for his fourth victory of the season and the 363rd of his career to inch him closer to the 19th spot in NHL history.
Forsberg (8g-7a) leads the team with 15 points, and then Matt Duchene (3g-5a), Roman Josi (2g-6a) and Ryan Ellis (2g-6a) all have eight points apiece. Jarnkrok has four goals on the season, while Duchene, Sissons, Mikael Granlund and Rocco Grimaldi have three each. Rinne is 4-5-0 in net for the Preds; Juuse Saros is 3-5-0 on the season.
The Opposition:
Detroit sits one point behind the Preds for the last spot in the Central Division and snapped a three-game skid with a 2-1 win over the Panthers on Saturday night. Dylan Larkin (4g-7a) leads the club with 11 points, followed by Bobby Ryan (5g-4a), Anthony Mantha (5g-4a) and Filip Hronek (9a) with nine points each. Ryan, Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi are tied for the team lead in goals with five apiece. Jonathan Bernier is 4-2-0 in net for the Wings; Thomas Greiss is 1-10-3.
All-Time Meetings:
The Predators are 37-50-(4)-10 all-time against the Red Wings, including a 15-26-(2)-7 record on the road. Nashville is 2-0-1 at Little Caesars Arena since it opened in 2017-18. This will be the 102nd meeting between the two teams, Nashville's third-most games played against a single opponent behind St. Louis (118) and Chicago (119).
Nashville has won two of its last three games against Detroit and is 2-3-0 in its last five versus the Red Wings. On the road, the Preds have earned points in four of their last five games against the Red Wings, going 2-1-2. Nashville is averaging 3.8 goals per game in its last five contests in Motown.
Notables Versus Detroit:
Filip Forsberg is on a five-game point streak versus Detroit, tallying three goals and eight points, including a multi-point effort in two of his last three contests. Matt Duchene is also on a five-game point streak against the Red Wings (4g-3a). He's scored three goals in his last three games versus Detroit.
Roman Josi has 16 points (2g-14a) in 26 career meetings with Detroit, including nine points (9a) in his last 10 games against the Red Wings. Luke Kunin has four points (2g-2a) in six career games vs. Detroit, and Dante Fabbro has three points (1g-2a) in his last two meetings against the Red Wings.
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for tonight's 6:30 p.m. CT puck drop from Little Caesars Arena begins on FOX Sports Tennessee at 6 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show hosted by Lyndsay Rowley and Terry Crisp. Willy Daunic, Chris Mason and Kara Hammer have the call on the television side, while Pete Weber and Hal Gill will broadcast on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network. Pregame coverage on the radio begins at 5:30 p.m. with Darren McFarland. For broadcast information and channel locations throughout the country,
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Streaming Info:
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