Game Day: Sharks vs. Preds Preview

The Nashville Predators earned a crucial point in an overtime loss on Sunday in Pittsburgh, and now they've returned to Bridgestone Arena to host the San Jose Sharks and begin a season-long five-game homestand
this evening on Pride Night
. This is the third and final meeting between Nashville and San Jose this season; it's the second and final at home.
Despite the result, the Preds were pleased with their performance in Sunday afternoon's 3-2 OT loss, and they'll look to build on that effort this evening versus the Sharks. With just 10 games to go in the regular season, the postseason race remains tight, and the Predators would certainly like to take advantage of a stretch that sees them play seven of their next eight at home.

"There's a lot to like about our game [this afternoon]," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said following Sunday's loss to Pittsburgh. "I thought we played the game the right way. For lots of stretches of the game, we were able to dictate the terms of the game, and I thought it was a really good collective effort from our team. I felt like we deserved better, but I thought we played a real solid hockey game."
"That's definitely something we're looking forward to," Preds forward Nick Cousins said of playing at Bridgestone Arena. "I really like our game at home. We usually come out with a lot of energy and make it a hard building to play in. We've been like that all year, so it's nice to get home."
Predators goaltender Juuse Saros did not dress on Sunday and is day-to-day with a non-COVID illness. Netminder Connor Ingram was recalled from Milwaukee and backed up David Rittich against Pittsburgh. Forward Michael McCarron remained out with his upper-body injury, while defensemen Ben Harpur, Jeremy Davies and Dante Fabbro were scratched.
Ingram was reassigned to Milwaukee on Monday afternoon, a day off for the Predators.

The Good Guys:

Matt Duchene and Cousins each tallied on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh, while Rittich got the start and made 27 saves in the OT loss.
Preds Captain Roman Josi leads NHL defensemen and is 10th in the NHL in points this season with 87 (19g-68a). With his three-point effort on Thursday at Ottawa, he broke the franchise record for points in a season, previously held by Paul Kariya in 2005-06 (85).
Josi continues to lead his club in points, followed by Duchene with 75 (38g-37a) and Filip Forsberg with 71 (38g-33a). Ryan Johansen has 56 points (22g-34a), Mikael Granlund has 53 (9g-44a) and Tanner Jeannot has 41 (24g-17a). Saros is 35-22-3 in net; Rittich is now 5-3-2.

The Opposition:

The Sharks are currently on a six-game losing streak including a 4-2 loss against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday evening. Timo Meier leads his club in points with 70 (31g-39a), followed by Tomas Hertl with 59 (28g-31a) and Logan Couture with 49 (23g-26a). Netminder James Reimer is 18-16-7 on the season; goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen is 0-3-0 in four starts.

All-Time Meetings:

Nashville is 2-0-0 against San Jose in 2021-22, earning an 8-0 win on March 5 and a 3-1 win on Oct. 26. In the March 5 performance, the Predators notched the largest margin of victory in a road game in franchise history and scored at least eight goals for the eighth time.
The Predators are 4-0-1 in their last five games vs. the Sharks; they are 7-2-1 in their last 10; and 4-1-0 in their last five at home. Overall, Nashville has won nine of its last 13 games (9-3-1) against San Jose. The Predators are 39-29-(2)-8 all-time against the Sharks, including a 24-12-(1)-2 record at Bridgestone Arena.

Notables Versus San Jose:

Forsberg is averaging a point per game vs. San Jose in his career, posting 20 points (8g-12a) in 20 contests. Johansen has produced at nearly a point-per-game pace against the Sharks in his career, tallying 27 points (10g-17a) in 28 games. He has 13 points (2g-11a) in his last 12 meetings with the Sharks.
Josi has 23 points (6g-17a) in 27 career games against the Sharks, including four points (4a) on March 5. Duchene has nine points (6g-3a) in his last eight games against San Jose. He made his NHL debut on Oct. 1, 2009 vs. San Jose.
Philip Tomasino recorded a career-high three points (3a) and a +5 rating on March 5 at San Jose. Matt Luff (2g-1a) and Michael McCarron (2g-2a) recorded career highs in points in Nashville's March 5 win against the Sharks. Mark Borowiecki made his NHL debut on Jan. 19, 2012 at San Jose. Mattias Ekholm scored his first career NHL goal vs. San Jose on Jan. 7, 2014.

Watch & Listen:

Coverage for tonight's 7 p.m. CT puck drop from Nashville begins at 6:30 p.m. with the Predators Live! pregame show on Bally Sports South 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 6 p.m. with Darren McFarland. Tonight's game will also be broadcasted on El Jefe presented by Don Beto powered by ETHNIX GROUP and will be carried on 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM.