Game Day: Preds at Avalanche Preview

After defeating the Devils yesterday evening, the Nashville Predators will try for two more points when they face the Colorado Avalanche tonight in Denver at Ball Arena. It's the first of three meetings between the two divisional foes this season and their first get-together since February of 2020.
Nashville completed a three-game homestand on Friday night with a 4-2 win over New Jersey to go 2-1-0 over the past week, and the effort less than 24 hours earlier was much more indicative of how the Preds would prefer to play more often than not.

"Guys were really hard on pucks, the execution was strong, we had a shot mentality, so it was good to see, and that's kind of what this group has been," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said following the win. "You're not going to be perfect every night, but they always find a way [to improve]. They come in, they learn, they see what needs to change and they're committed to playing better, so I'm proud of their effort. I thought the guys played really well tonight, so a good win."
Tonight, they'll face a Colorado team many pundits have pegged as Stanley Cup favorites, and the Preds know another complete effort will be necessary to find success once more.
"The last couple games it's been kind of up and down a little bit," Preds Captain Roman Josi said Friday. "I think we've got to get some consistency back in our game. I think we had that before, but it's obviously a long season, so there's going to be some ups and downs. But then I think we know how we have to play. The way we played tonight, that gives us a good chance to win every night and that's what we're going to have to do going forward."
The Predators will not hold a morning skate ahead of tonight's game in Denver, and as of Friday, Nashville does not currently have any injured players on the roster.

The Good Guys:

Josi, Philip Tomasino, Mikael Granlund and Alexandre Carrier all found the back of the net during Friday's win. Josi also added an assist as he skated in his 700th NHL contest, while Juuse Saros made 23 saves to earn his ninth victory on the season.
Former Colorado forward Matt Duchene leads the Preds in scoring with 12 goals and 21 points, followed by Josi (7g-13a) and Granlund (5g-15a) with 20 points each. Ryan Johansen (6g-10a) has 16 points on the season, and Filip Forsberg (6g-4a) has 10 points in 11 games. Saros is 9-7-1 on the campaign, while David Rittich is 1-0-0 in two appearances thus far with Nashville.

The Opposition:

The Avalanche fell to the Stars in Dallas by a 3-1 final last night to move their record to 10-6-1 overall - however, that loss snapped a six-game win streak for Colorado that saw them score seven goals on three of those occasions.
Nazem Kadri (7g-18a) leads the team with 25 points, followed by Gabriel Landeskog (6g-12a) with 18 points and Cale Makar (9g-8a) with 17 points. Mikko Rantanen has seven goals for the Avs, Andre Burakovsky has six and J.T Compher has five. Darcy Kuemper took the loss in net last night for Colorado; he's 9-5-0, while Jonas Johansson is 1-1-1 in four appearances.

All-Time Meetings:

The Predators are 44-32-(5)-3 all-time against the Avalanche, including a 22-17-(2)-2 record on the road. Nashville and Colorado last met on Feb. 29, 2020 at Bridgestone Arena, a 3-2 defeat for the home team.
Nashville has won 12 of its last 16 regular-season games against Colorado, including an 11-game win streak from April 5, 2016-Nov. 7, 2018. During the win streak, Nashville posted 4.2 goals per game and held Colorado to two-or-fewer goals seven times.
The Preds are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games at Ball Arena, winning eight in a row on the road against the Avalanche from March 5, 2016-Jan. 21, 2019.

Notables Versus Colorado:

Matt Duchene was drafted third overall by the Avalanche in the 2009 NHL Draft. He recorded 428 points (178g-250a) in nine seasons with Colorado from 2009-17. Duchene has five goals and six points in six career games against his former team.
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 24 of his 34 career games against the Avalanche, tallying 11 goals and 32 points.
Colton Sissons posted a five-game point streak (7g-1a) against the Avalanche from Oct. 17, 2017-Nov. 7, 2018. He has 10 points (8g-2a) in 15 career regular-season games vs. Colorado; including the postseason, he has 17 points (11g-6a) in 21 games against the Avs.
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 27 points (14g-13a) in 26 games, including four game-winning goals.

Watch & Listen:

Coverage for tonight's 8 p.m. CT puck drop from Denver begins at 7:30 p.m. CT with the Predators Live! pregame show on Bally Sports South. Willy Daunic, Chris Mason and Lyndsay Rowley 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 7 p.m. with Darren McFarland. For broadcast information and channel locations throughout the country, click here.