Game Day: Penguins vs. Preds Preview

After a bounceback victory in Minnesota on Sunday evening, the Nashville Predators have returned home and will continue their playoff push when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight at Bridgestone Arena. This evening's matchup is the first of two meetings between the Preds and Pens this season; Nashville will travel to Pittsburgh on April 10 to finish out the series.
A massive week finished with the Predators collecting six out of a possible eight points, including that 6-2 victory over the Wild to close out a back-to-back set over the weekend. But just as each game over the past week was deemed the biggest of the season, the Preds figure that'll likely be the case the rest of the way with each night bringing a new challenge and a chance to keep pace in the Western Conference standings.

The Predators say their game is in good order, and now they'll look to stay true to their identity against one of the top teams in the East.
"We're in a good spot right now," Preds forward Nick Cousins said following Sunday's win. "Tonight was a huge two points in the standings, and we've just got to carry that over to our home game against Pittsburgh."
"Right now, it's just about consistency and understanding that we're going to win some games - and we're not going to win every game down the stretch here - but as we talked with our team about, we're not going to be emotional," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said. "Big wins, tough losses - the only time we're going to get emotional and get into it is when our game is not in order. And I think if our game is in order, if we've played the right way, we're going to give ourselves a chance to be a really good team down the stretch. We're going to put ourselves in position to win a lot of hockey games. If our focus is on our game and how we play and continuing to get better, we're going to give ourselves a good chance to be a good team here down the stretch."
With the exception of David Rittich's start on Sunday, Nashville's lineup remained unchanged throughout the week. Defenseman Mark Borowiecki (day-to-day) did not play Sunday, and forward Matt Luff, as well as blueliner Philippe Myers, were scratched. The Preds had the day off on Monday, but they are expected to hold a morning skate prior to hosting the Penguins.

The Good Guys:

Preds Captain Roman Josi tallied twice on Sunday evening, including his career-high 17th goal of the season. Filip Forsberg also scored twice - with one being an empty-netter - to reach the 30-goal mark for the third time in his career. Forsberg is now just two goals away from setting the franchise's all-time goal-scoring record. Philip Tomasino and Cousins also scored on Sunday evening, and Rittich made 26 saves to earn his fifth victory of the season.
Predators rookies have scored 30 goals, the most in the NHL this season. Nashville rookies have compiled 85 points and account for 16.4 percent of the team's points, the second- and third-most, respectively, in the NHL in 2021-22.
Josi continues to lead the Preds in points with 66 (17g-49a), followed by Matt Duchene with 59 (31g-28a) and Forsberg with 54 (31g-23a). Ryan Johansen has 44 points (15g-29a), Mikael Granlund also has 44 (9g-35a) and Tanner Jeannot has 33 (18g-15a). Goaltender Juuse Saros is 28-18-3 in net; Rittich is now 5-2-1.

The Opposition:

The Penguins have won three of their last five games including a 4-2 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. Jake Guentzel leads his club in points with 59 (28g-31a), closely followed by Sidney Crosby with 58 (20g-38a) and Kris Letang with 51 (6g-45a). Bryan Rust has 20 goals for Pittsburgh, and Evgeni Malkin has 24 points in 24 games since returning from injury earlier this season. Goaltender Tristan Jarry is 29-12-6 in net; Casey DeSmith is 6-3-3.

All-Time Meetings:

The Predators are 13-13-(2)-3 all-time against the Penguins, including an 8-5-(0)-3 record at Bridgestone Arena. The Predators are 2-2-1 in their last five games vs. the Penguins; they are 3-5-2 in their last 10; and 2-1-2 in their last five at home. It will be the Predators' first game against the Penguins since Dec. 28, 2019, a 6-4 defeat for Nashville on the road.

Notables Versus Pittsburgh:

Saros recorded his first career NHL win on Oct. 22, 2016 vs. the Penguins. Duchene has 12 points (8g-4a) in 20 career games against Pittsburgh.
Forsberg has eight points (8a) in his last 11 games against Pittsburgh. The Penguins are one of two teams (Ottawa) Forsberg has not scored a goal against in his career. Granlund scored twice in Nashville's last game vs. Pittsburgh. He owns eight points (5g-3a) in 13 career meetings with the Penguins.
Head Coach John Hynes served as head coach of Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, for five seasons from 2010-15.

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.