Predators at Blues preview

PREDATORS (21-9-5) at BLUES (23-13-2)
8 p.m. ET; FS-MW, FS-TN, NHL.TV

The Blues lead the Predators by one point and have played three more games.
Nashville looks to avoid a season-long fourth straight loss (0-2-1) after going 6-0-1 in its previous seven games.
St. Louis is 1-3-0 in its past four games and 2-5-0 in its past seven after a four-game winning streak.
The Predators won the only meeting this season, 2-0 at the Blues on Nov. 24.

Players to watch

Predators forward Kevin Fiala has scored a goal in eight of his past 10 games and has 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in that span.
Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko has three goals in his past 16 games but has 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 25 games against the Predators.

They said it

"The last couple games of the Canadian trip [Dec. 13-16], we relied on our goaltending too much. When you're moving along and not losing games, you can find some holes in your game." -- Predators coach Peter Laviolette
"I think that not just the travel, but the amount of games that we've been playing. … The combination of that and some of the guys we've had out of the lineup, our guys have been competing hard and battling hard. I was happy for them to get a break there." -- Blues coach Mike Yeo on St. Louis' 3-1 win at the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday

Predators projected lineup

Scott Hartnell -- Ryan Johansen -- Viktor Arvidsson
Kevin Fiala -- Kyle Turris -- Craig Smith
Filip Forsberg -- Calle Jarnkrok -- Pontus Aberg
Nick Bonino -- Colton Sissons -- Austin Watson
Roman Josi -- Mattias Ekholm
Alexei Emelin -- P.K. Subban
Yannick Weber -- Matt Irwin
Pekka Rinne
Juuse Saros
Scratched:Cody McLeod, Miikka Salomaki, Anthony Bitetto
Injured:Ryan Ellis (knee)

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Blues projected lineup

Alexander Steen -- Paul Stastny -- Tage Thompson
Patrik Berglund -- Brayden Schenn -- Vladimir Tarasenko
Vladimir Sobotka -- Oskar Sundqvist -- Magnus Paajarvi
Scottie Upshall -- Kyle Brodziak -- Dmitrij Jaskin
Joel Edmundson -- Alex Pietrangelo
Carl Gunnarsson -- Colton Parayko
Vince Dunn -- Robert Bortuzzo
Jake Allen
Carter Hutton
Scratched: Chris Thorburn, Jordan Schmaltz, Ivan Barbashev
Injured: Jaden Schwartz (ankle), Jay Bouwmeester (undisclosed), Sammy Blais (lower body), Zach Sanford (shoulder)

Status report

Hartnell moves up to the top line and Forsberg moves to the third line. ... Irwin is expected to replace Bitetto and Aberg is expected to replace McLeod. ... Ellis is skating but not ready to return. ... Bouwmeester and Blais each skated prior to the morning skate Wednesday and each could practice Thursday, Yeo said.

Stat pack

Turris has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in his past 10 games. ... The Blues have scored two goals or fewer in six of their past seven games after scoring three or more in four straight.