Blue Jackets at Predators preview

BLUE JACKETS (43-30-4) at PREDATORS (44-28-6)
8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, FS-O, FS-TN, NHL.TV

The Blue Jackets hold the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. They are tied in points with the Montreal Canadiens, with a game in hand, and are one point behind the Carolina Hurricanes for the first wild card.
Columbus has won three consecutive games and has outscored the opposition 15-2 during that span.
The Predators will play the second half of back-to-back games. They defeated the Penguins 3-1 on Friday and are tied with the Winnipeg Jets for first place in the Central Division. The Jets have played one fewer game.

Players to watch

Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is 7-2-0 with a .954 save percentage and three shutouts in his past eight starts.
Predators forward Ryan Johansen has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in his past nine games.

They said it

"It's where you want to be. You want to be right in the hunt this time of year. It's a big game for us tonight. We've been playing well as of late, so we can take some confidence from the last couple games. It'll be important for us to be on the attack right away, especially with their back-to-back with travel." -- Blue Jackets defenseman Scott Harrington
"I just try and do my thing. You've just got to go out there and do what makes you successful and effective for your team to win. Just look at [Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson] numbers. They're some of the better goal-scorers in this League. We go out there as a line, each and every night, and we just try and be difference makers." -- Predators forward Ryan Johansen on joining Paul Kariya as the only two players in team history to have 50 assists in a season

Blue Jackets projected lineup

Artemi Panarin -- Matt Duchene -- Cam Atkinson
Ryan Dzingel -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Josh Anderson
Boone Jenner -- Alex Wennberg -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Nick Foligno -- Brandon Dubinsky -- Riley Nash
Zach Werenski -- Seth Jones
Markus Nutivaara -- David Savard
Scott Harrington -- Dean Kukan
Sergei Bobrovsky
Joonas Korpisalo
Scratched: Keith Kinkaid, Eric Robinson, Lukas Sedlak, Markus Hannikainen, Adam Clendening
Injured: Adam McQuaid (upper body), Ryan Murray (upper body)

Predators projected lineup

Filip Forsberg -- Ryan Johansen -- Viktor Arvidsson
Colton Sissons -- Kyle Turris -- Mikael Granlund
Calle Jarnkrok -- Nick Bonino -- Craig Smith
Brian Boyle -- Frederick Gaudreau -- Wayne Simmonds
Roman Josi -- Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm -- P.K. Subban
Dan Hamhuis -- Dante Fabbro
Juuse Saros
Pekka Rinne
Scratched: Matt Irwin, Yannick Weber, Cody McLeod, Rem Pitlick, Troy Grosenick
Injured: Rocco Grimaldi (upper body)

Status report

Harrington will replace McQuaid on the third pair. … The Predators held an optional morning skate. Fabbro will make his NHL debut.

Stat pack

Anderson has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his past eight games. … Arvidsson set a new NHL career high with his 32nd goal against Pittsburgh.