The Nashville Predators (11-10-0) look to extend their win streak to seven games as they host the Minnesota Wild (6-10-4) in a Central Division showdown on Thursday 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 Tuesday’s game vs. Pittsburgh:
Forsberg - O’Reilly - Nyquist
Sherwood - Pärssinen - Evangelista
Trenin - Sissons
Smith - McCarron - Tomasino
McDonagh - Josi
Lauzon - Carrier
Fabbro - Barrie
Schenn
Saros
Lankinen
Scratch: Foudy
IR: Schenn, Novak, Glass
LAST TIME OUT
Nashville improved to 8-4-0 at Bridgestone Arena in 2023-24 with Tuesday’s OT win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Predators are now 2-0 in overtime/shootouts this season, and they extended their win streak to six games.
Filip Forsberg scored his ninth career OT goal as part of a two-point night (1g-1a), and Michael McCarron recorded his third career multi-goal game (2g). Gustav Nyquist assisted on Forsberg’s goal to extend his point streak to nine games.
ALL-TIME MEETINGS
The Predators are 44-27-(5)-9 all-time against the Wild, including a 27-9-(2)-5 record at Bridgestone Arena. This is the first of four matchups between Nashville and Minnesota in 2023-24 and the first of two at home.
Nashville went 2-1-0 against Minnesota last season, earning victories in both meetings at Bridgestone Arena. The Predators have won 12 of their last 15 games vs. the Wild, a stretch that included a seven-game win streak from March 27, 2018-Oct. 24, 2019. Nashville allowed two-or-fewer goals in six of those seven wins.
NOTABLES VS. MINNESOTA
- Roman Josi has 33 points (14g-19a) in 40 career games against Minnesota. He enters Thursday’s contest on a nine-game point streak vs. the Wild (8g-5a), a run that has included two four-point efforts.
- Forsberg scored his first career NHL goal on Oct. 8, 2013 vs. Minnesota. Forsberg’s 16 goals against the Wild are the third-most he’s scored against a single opponent in his NHL career. He posted a six-game point streak vs. Minnesota from Oct. 3, 2019-April 24, 2022 (5g-9a).
- Ryan McDonagh was named Minnesota’s “Mr. Hockey” as the state’s best high school player in 2006-07.
- Head Coach Andrew Brunette played six seasons for the Wild from 2001-04 and 2008-11, posting 321 points (119g-202a) in 489 games. Of note, he scored the OT winner in Game 7 of the 2003 Western Conference Quarterfinals against Colorado, helping Minnesota win its first-ever playoff series. He also previously served as an assistant coach (2014-16); special assistant to the GM (2016-17); assistant general manager (2017-18); and director of player personnel (2018-19) for Minnesota.
- Assistant Coach Todd Richards served as head coach of the Wild for two seasons from 2009-11.
- Wild Head Coach John Hynes served in the same role for the Predators for parts of four seasons from 2020-23, compiling a 134-96-18 record.
- Minnesota forwards Frederick Gaudreau (2016-19) and Ryan Hartman (2018-19) were previous members of the Predators.
THE GOOD GUYS
Going Streaking: The Predators enter Thursday’s meeting with Minnesota on a six-game win streak. It’s Nashville’s first six-game win streak since claiming seven in a row from Dec. 4-17, 2021. The franchise record is 10 games, set from Feb. 19-March 8, 2018. Since Nov. 18 – the start of the win streak – the Predators have scored the second-most goals in the NHL (26); have tied for the third-most goals per game (4.33); have posted the fourth-most shots on goal per game (32.2); and have allowed the seventh-fewest goals against per game (2.33).
Fil the Thrill: Forsberg leads Nashville in points with 27 (12g-15a) after recording two points on Tuesday vs. Pittsburgh (1g-1a). He has posted at least one point in eight of his last nine games and 12 of his last 14. He has scored multiple goals in four of his last nine games, including five goals in a three-game span from Nov. 9-14. Forsberg is tied for 11th in the NHL in goals with 12, and he is seven goals from tying his output of 19 from the 2022-23 campaign. He shares the NHL lead in goals (11) and is tied for seventh in points (19) in the month of November. His 10 goals since Nov. 9 are the most among League skaters. Forsberg is also tied for fourth in the NHL in multi-goal games (4); fifth in shot attempts (174); and seventh in SOG (87). He is the second player in Predators history to have 25 points through his first 20 games of a season, joining Steve Sullivan, who also had 25 points to begin the 2006-07 campaign.
Juuse Star-os: Predators goaltender Juuse Saros was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week on Monday. He led the NHL with three victories in as many starts, compiling a 2.35 goals-against average and .921 save percentage to help the Predators extend their winning streak to five games dating to Nov. 18.
Red-Hot Rookie: Luke Evangelista is tied for fourth among NHL rookies in points with 12 (3g-9a). He recorded his third career three-point game on Friday at St. Louis (2g-1a), becoming the fourth Predators player with as many before turning 22, joining Forsberg (8), Scott Hartnell (3) and Alexander Radulov (3).
The Captain: Josi has points in 12 of his last 18 games (4g-12a), including a four-game point streak from Oct. 28-Nov. 4 (2g-3a). He tied Craig Smith for the fifth-most goals (162) in Predators history on Sunday vs. Winnipeg; he also recorded his 30th career three-point game, trailing only Filip Forsberg (37) for the most in team history. Per NHL EDGE, Josi has skated the longest total distance among NHL defensemen on the power play this season (14.05 miles). His 80 shots on goal lead all NHL defensemen.
Gus the Bus: Nyquist extended his point streak to nine games (2g-9a) with an assist on Tuesday vs. Pittsburgh, the second-longest of his NHL career (longest: 10 in 2013-14). It’s also the second-longest active point streak in the NHL (Quinn Hughes – 11).
Yak Attack: With a goal on Sunday vs. Winnipeg, Yakov Trenin now has four goals and five points in his last six games.
THE OTHER GUYS
The Wild won their first game under Hynes and snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday. They currently sit at seventh place in the Central Division with 16 points on the season and are 2-6-2 on the road.
Mats Zuccarello leads the Wild with 22 points (5g-17a), and his 17 assists are also a team high. Joel Eriksson Ek has scored a team-leading 11 goals, including one in each of his last three games. Marco Rossi is fourth among all NHL rookies with 11 points (6g-5a).
WATCH & LISTEN
Coverage for Thursday’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. The game can also be streamed live on Fubo; click here for a 14-day free trial.
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.)
