The Nashville Predators (6-10-0) continue their five-game homestand as they host the Colorado Avalanche (11-5-0) on Monday at Bridgestone Arena.
Puck drop is at 7 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on Bally Sports South, 102.5 The Game and El Jefe Radio. Here's everything you need to know:
LINE ‘EM UP
Below are Nashville’s lines from Saturday’s game vs. Chicago:
Forsberg - O’Reilly - Nyquist
Sherwood - Glass - Evangelista
Trenin - Pärssinen - Sissons
Smith - McCarron - Tomasino
Josi - Fabbro
Lauzon - Carrier
Stastney - Barrie
Lankinen
Saros
Scratches: Foudy, McDonagh
IR: Schenn, Novak
LAST TIME OUT
Nashville improved to 4-4-0 at Bridgestone Arena in 2023-24, snapping a four-game losing streak with Saturday’s 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. The Predators outshot the Blackhawks, 32-31, including by a 13-9 margin in the first period. Yakov Trenin opened the scoring with his first goal of the season, and Gustav Nyquist added a power-play goal of his own to give Nashville a 2-0 lead.
Cole Smith recorded his second multi-goal game of the season (2g), sealing the win with an empty-netter in the game’s final seconds. Kevin Lankinen earned the win in goal, stopping 29 of 31 shots in his first game against his former team. Jeremy Lauzon had a team-high five hits, and Spencer Stastney had a +1 rating and three blocked shots in his season debut.
ALL-TIME MEETINGS
The Predators are 47-36-(5)-4 all-time against the Avalanche, including a 24-16-(3)-2 record at Bridgestone Arena. This is the first of three matchups between Nashville and Colorado in 2023-24 and the first of two at home.
Nashville went 0-3-1 against Colorado last season, picking up a point in a 3-2 overtime defeat at home on Dec. 23, 2022.
NOTABLES VS. COLORADO
- Roman Josi recorded a 12-game point streak vs. Colorado (5g-11a) from March 28, 2016-Jan. 21, 2019. He’s recorded a point in 29 of his 41 career games against the Avalanche, tallying 14 goals and 40 points.
- Colton Sissons posted a career-high three assists on Dec. 16, 2021 vs. the Avs. He has 15 points (8g-7a) in 23 career regular-season games vs. Colorado.
- Filip Forsberg notched his fourth career hat trick on Feb. 23, 2017 vs. the Avalanche. He’s averaged more than a point per game in his career against Colorado, recording 33 points (16g-17a) in 32 games, including five game-winning goals.
- Tyson Barrie was drafted by Colorado in the third round (64th overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft. He played the first 484 games of his career with the Avalanche from 2011-19, totaling 307 points (75g-232a).
- Ryan O’Reilly was drafted by Colorado in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft. He played the first 427 games of his career with the Avalanche from 2009-15, totaling 246 points (90g-156a).
- Kiefer Sherwood played in 27 games across two seasons (2020-22) for Colorado, posting five points (1g-4a).
- Predators Assistant Coach Dan Hinote won the 2001 Stanley Cup as a player for the Avalanche.
- Colorado defenseman Samuel Girard was selected by the Predators in the second round (47th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft. He skated in five games for Nashville in 2017-18, tallying three points (1g-2a).
- Avalanche forward Ryan Johansen played in 533 games for the Predators from 2016-23, recording 362 points (110g-252a). Johansen left Nashville with the second-most playoff points (48) in franchise history.
THE GOOD GUYS
Filthy Forsberg: Forsberg leads Nashville in points with 19 (7g-12a) after tallying an assist on Saturday vs. Chicago. He extended his point streak to four games (5g-2a); he has also recorded multiple goals in two of his last four games and has points in eight of his last nine contests (6g-8a). Forsberg is also fourth among all NHL skaters in shot attempts (138) and 10th in shots on goal (67).
Captain Clutch: Josi has points in nine of his last 13 games (3g-8a), including a four-game point streak from Oct. 28-Nov. 4 (2g-3a). He scored his first goal of the season, the OT winner, on Oct. 28 vs. Toronto, and added his first power-play goal of the campaign on Nov. 2 at Seattle. Per NHL EDGE, Josi has skated the second-longest total distance among NHL defensemen on the power play this season (11.01 miles).
Factor 1,000: O’Reilly recorded his fifth career NHL hat trick on Nov. 4 at Edmonton in a four-point effort (3g-1a). He now has 11 points (6g-5a) in his last nine games after posting an assist on Saturday vs. Chicago. His eight goals from the high-danger zone are tied for the second-most in the NHL per NHL EDGE.
Red-Hot Rookie: Luke Evangelista has nine points (1g-8a) in his last 12 games, including two multi-point efforts. He’s tied for sixth among NHL rookies in points with nine (1g-8a).
The Gus Bus: Nyquist is currently on a four-game point streak (1g-4a).
Juiced Up: Per NHL EDGE, Juuse Saros is tied for third in the NHL in saves from the mid-range area (100). He’s tied for third in games played (13) and starts (13) among NHL goaltenders.
On the Attack: Through 16 games, the Predators are sixth in the NHL in expected goal percentage (5-on-5) at 53.8 percent and expected goal differential (5-on-5) at 4.63 per MoneyPuck.com. Nashville is also tied for fourth in the NHL in high-danger shots for at 5-on-5 (40).
Power Play: The Predators are tied for 10th in the NHL in power-play goals with 14; Nashville has scored multiple power-play goals in the same game four times this season.
THE OTHER GUYS
The Avalanche are riding a three-game winning streak and currently sit in second place in the Central Division. Most recently, they rallied from a three-goal deficit and scored six straight to defeat the first-place Dallas Stars on Saturday at American Airlines Arena; it was their NHL-leading seventh comeback win this season.
Cale Makar (4g-20a) leads Colorado with 24 points, and his 20 assists are also a team high; he ranks in the top 10 among all NHL skaters in both categories. Mikko Rantanen has scored a team-leading 11 goals.
WATCH & LISTEN
Coverage for Monday’s game begins at 6:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on Bally Sports South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley alongside analyst Hal Gill. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic, analyst Chris Mason and rinkside reporter Kara Hammer will have the call on the television side.
Pete Weber and Jay More will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network, with pregame, postgame and intermission coverage by Max Herz beginning one hour before puck drop. 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.)
