The Nashville Predators are back on the road for a two-game trip, and it begins tonight in Dallas against the Stars with a 7 p.m. CT puck drop at American Airlines Center. This evening’s contest is the second of four meetings between the division rivals this season; the Preds fell to the Stars on Opening Night in Nashville.
Tonight presents another opportunity for the Predators to get out of their current winless skid, a streak that has seen them go 0-5-3 in their last eight outings. For Nashville, the focus is simply on moving to the next game, building off of the good and finding a way to break through to get a win.
“It's obviously a situation you don't want to be in, but at the same time, we can't do anything about what just happened, we’ve just got to keep digging in,” Preds Alternate Captain Filip Forsberg said following Tuesday’s loss to Calgary. “And I'm sure that's been the message from everybody you guys have talked to, but it's the truth. At the end of the day, we obviously set ourselves in this position, but nobody can get us out of it, except us. And I think we're very capable of doing that. But it's not what you want… But I think the guys are digging. We’ve got to keep digging. I think that [has to be] the message, and hopefully [we] can keep doing that, and good things will come for the group.”
Preds Captain Roman Josi left Thursday’s game after the first period and did not return due to a lower-body injury. There was no additional update on Josi’s status following the game.
Predators forward Gustav Nyquist missed Tuesday’s game due to illness and is day-to-day. Ryan O’Reilly (lower body, week-to-week) and Alexandre Carrier (upper body, week-to-week) were also absent on Thursday night; Juuso Parssinen took Nyquist’s spot in the lineup.
Last Time Out:
Jonathan Marchessault scored twice, and Tommy Novak found the back of the net for his 100th career point in Nashville’s 4-3 loss to the Flames at Bridgestone Arena. Forsberg and Steven Stamkos added the primary assist on Marchessault’s respective goals, while Juuse Saros took the loss in net.
Per NHL Public Relations, Novak (40g-60a-100p in 171 GP) scored and required the fourth-fewest games to reach 100 career points among players to debut with the Preds, behind Marek Zidlicky (147 GP), Alexander Radulov (150 GP) and Forsberg (153 GP).
The Good Guys:
Josi continues to lead the team (7g-16a) with 23 points, followed by Forsberg (9g-10a) with 19 points and Marchessault (7g-8a) with 15 points. Stamkos has seven goals, Nyquist has six and Novak has four tallies. Saros is 6-13-5 in net with a .908 save percentage; Justus Annunen is 6-5-0 overall with one loss since being acquired by Nashville via trade.
The Opposition:
The Stars responded from a pair of losses by beating Calgary by a 6-2 final in Dallas on Sunday night and sit third in the Central Division. Former Preds forward Matt Duchene leads the club with 12 goals and 29 points, followed by Mason Marchment (12g-15a) with 27 points. Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnson have identical statlines with six goals and 17 points each; Tyler Seguin, who had 20 points in 19 games, is out for the rest of the season due to injury. Goaltender Jake Oettinger is 14-6-0 in net; Casey DeSmith is 3-4-0.
All-Time Meetings:
The Predators are 50-53-(1)-5 all-time against the Stars, including a 19-31-(0)-3 record on the road.
Nashville is 3-7-0 in their last 10 games against the Stars and 5-3-0 in their last eight trips to Dallas.
The Predators traveled to Dallas for the 2020 NHL Winter Classic at the Cotton Bowl. The game was the Predators’ first outdoor game and saw a crowd of 85,630 fans, becoming the second-most attended game in NHL history.
In six of the past seven Predators wins against the Stars, they have scored first.
Notables Versus Dallas:
Steven Stamkos has tallied 28 points (17g-11a) in his last 23 contests against the Stars.
Juuse Saros is 12-10-1 in his career vs. Dallas, posting three shutouts, a 2.70 goals-against average and .909 save percentage in 23 games.
Roman Josi owns 37 career points (12g-25a) vs. the Stars, tied for the third-most against a single opponent in his NHL career. Since entering the league in the 2011-12 season, Josi has recorded the fifth-most points and third-most assists against Dallas among all active skaters.
Filip Forsberg has 16 goals and 30 points in 42 career meetings with Dallas. His 16 goals against the Stars are his fourth-most against an individual team in his career and are tied for the seventh-most by an active skater since his rookie season 2012-13.
Milestone Watch:
Luke Schenn is one point from 200 in his NHL career.
Filip Forsberg 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.
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for tonight’s game begins at 6:30 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.)
