PREDATORS (16-5-1) at BLUES (7-10-3) 8 p.m. ET; FS-MW, FS-TN, NHL.TV
The Predators defeated the Blues 4-1 on Wednesday at Bridgestone Arena. Nashville is 8-2-1 on the road but has lost its last three (0-2-1). St. Louis, which has lost three in a row and five of six, activated forward Pat Maroon off injured reserve. He will play after missing the past four games with an upper-body injury. Nashville will start goalie Juuse Saros, who last played Nov. 13 when he made 32 saves in a 5-4 loss at the San Jose Sharks.
Players to watch
Predators forward Filip Forsberg has five points (four goals, one assist) the past five games. Forsberg has 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) in 21 games against St. Louis. Blues center Ryan O'Reilly has 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) in the past 15 games.
They said it
"There's probably a little more heated part of the rivalry being back to back against the same team. Depending on how the first game goes, usually the losing team's never happy and creates kind of a more heated scenario for game number two." -- Predators center Kyle Turris "I think it creates a good environment, especially when it's a division rival like this. It's easier on the pre-scout too. It's fresh on your mind. Coming off that game [Wednesday], I think we've got some unfinished business." -- Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo
Subban did not skate in the morning and will miss his fifth consecutive game. ... To make room for Maroon, the Blues put Schwartz on IR. ... Bortuzzo, who has missed the past 13 games, skated Friday morning.
Stat pack
Jarnkrok has four points (three goals, one assist) the past three games. ... Tarasenko has 10 points (four goals, six assists) the past 12 games but has not scored a goal in nine straight.
