Preview: Predators at Flyers

PREDATORS (13-12-5) AT FLYERS (19-11-3)
7 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, CSN-PH, FS-TN, NHL.TV

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Predators team scope

Defenseman P.K. Subban did not make the Nashville Predators' road trip and will miss at least two more games because of an upper-body injury. After the Predators play at the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, they visit the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. Petter Granberg skated in Subban's spot on a pairing with Mattias Ekholm, and defenseman Adam Pardy was recalled from Milwaukee of the American Hockey League, but coach Peter Laviolette did not discuss his lineup. "Filling the hole isn't easy," Laviolette said. "If we had another P.K., we'd use him. But Matt Irwin has jumped up and done a really nice job for us." Ekholm said with or without Subban, very little changes in his approach. "Whoever I play with I'll try to play my game and whoever is playing with me, I know it's going to be a good fit," he said. "We have a lot of great defensemen on this team. I don't see it as a big problem." The Predators have their fathers on the trip for their final two road games before the Christmas break and hope that brings them some luck. "Most often times the teams that bring the dads, they play well," Laviolette said. "Doesn't necessarily guarantee wins but nobody wants to play poorly in front of their dad."

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Flyers team scope

The Flyers' focus is not letting a losing streak damage anything they accomplished during the 10-game winning streak that ended with a 3-1 road loss to the Dallas Stars on Saturday. "I think what defines a good team is everyone is going to lose hockey games, it's a matter of nipping it in the bud after one, not letting it get to two, three, four, things like that," goaltender Steve Mason said. "You don't want to counteract all the wins we've put together here with losses in a row. We definitely want to have a strong showing tonight and get back in the win column." The Flyers felt they played well enough to extend their streak but didn't get some of the puck luck they had been benefitting from. "I don't think we played our best but we were right there 1-1 in the third period," forward Jakub Voracek said. "I think we were pushing the last seven, eight minutes pretty hard. We could have scored the goal to tie the game but we didn't. I think we got a lot of bounces during the 10-game streak that we were fortunate with. We've just got to move on." Forward Wayne Simmonds said there's no time to dwell on the loss because of how well the other teams in the Metropolitan Division are doing. "Everyone in our division is winning games and they continue to win games," he said. "We lost our last game. We want to get back up on the horse and have a strong outing tonight."

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Predators projected lineup

Calle Jarnkrok -- Ryan Johansen -- James Neal
Filip Forsberg -- Mike Ribeiro -- Craig Smith
Colin Wilson -- Mike Fisher -- Viktor Arvidsson
Kevin Fiala -- Colton Sissons -- Austin Watson
Roman Josi -- Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm -- Petter Granberg
Matt Irwin -- Yannick Weber
Pekka Rinne
Juuse Saros
Scratched:Adam Pardy, Reid Boucher
Injured: P.K. Subban (upper body), Anthony Bitetto (upper body), Miikka Salomaki (lower body)

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Flyers projected lineup

Michael Raffl -- Claude Giroux -- Jakub Voracek
Travis Konecny -- Brayden Schenn -- Wayne Simmonds
Chris VandeVelde -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Roman Lyubimov
Taylor Leier -- Boyd Gordon -- Nick Cousins
Ivan Provorov -- Andrew MacDonald
Brandon Manning -- Shayne Gostisbehere
Michael Del Zotto -- Radko Gudas
Steve Mason
Anthony Stolarz
Scratched:Dale Weise, Nick Schultz
Injured:Michal Neuvirth (lower body), Matt Read (upper body), Sean Couturier (lower body), Mark Streit (shoulder)

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Status report

The Predators skated with the same lines they finished with in a 2-1 shootout loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday, with Jarnkrok at left wing on the top line with Johansen and Neal, and Forsberg at left wing on the second line with Ribeiro and Smith. Fiala, who had been in that spot, was on the fourth line with Sissons and Watson. Pardy could play in Granberg's spot. He has played 339 NHL games, including one this season, against the Dallas Stars on Dec. 8. Rinne was the first goaltender off the ice. … Weise will be a healthy scratch for the second time this season. In his place Gordon will center the fourth line with Cousins moving to right wing. It's Gordon's second game since missing more than five weeks because of an upper-body injury. "It's important for [Gordon] to get back in tonight," coach Dave Hakstol said. "Just continue building his game-readiness. He's a very competitive player. He's good in a lot of small areas of the game. … I think it's going to be a very competitive hockey game and I hope he can help us in some of those areas." Mason will start for the 10th time in the past 11 games. Neuvirth, who has been out because of a lower-body injury since Nov. 12, came out to face shots near the end of the morning skate. "He's a player that's rehabbing but it's nice to see a player rejoin the team on the ice," Hakstol said. Neuvirth was expected to need 4-6 weeks to recover from his injury.

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Who's hot

Fisher has four goals during a three-game goal streak. Johansen has five goals and seven assists in his past 12 games. Arvidsson has six points in his past six games. … Giroux has five goals and eight assists in his past 12 games. Schenn has five goals in his past four games. Simmonds has five goals and two assists in his past seven games. Mason is 8-1-0 with a 2.30 goals-against average and .925 save percentage in his past nine games.