Devils at Predators preview

DEVILS (9-14-5) at PREDATORS (12-10-5)
8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, FS-TN, MSG+, NHL.TV

The defenseman, who played the previous three seasons in Nashville, was acquired by New Jersey on June 22 for defensemen Steven Santini and Jeremy Davies, a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.
The Devils are coming off a 2-1 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday and are 0-3-1 in their past four games. New Jersey is looking for its first win since Alain Nasreddine replaced John Hynes as coach on Tuesday (0-1-1).
The Predators are 1-1-2 in their past four games and 1-4-3 in their past eight at home.

Players to watch

Devils forward Taylor Hall has two points (one goal, one assist) in his past two games.
Predators forward Calle Jarnkrok has six points (four goals, two assists) in his past seven games.

They said it

"You can tell we're using our speed a lot more and trusting each other out there with the way we're playing. We're connecting tape-to-tape passes. We're a confident group. Maybe that was lacking at times previously." -- Devils defenseman Damon Severson
"[Subban] did an unbelievable job here. Our team was successful when he was here. He was a big part of it. Offensively, defensively, he was a part of a lot of success. There's a lot of banners that hang in the building when he was here, and he was a part of it. He did a lot of good things in the community. I liked coaching [Subban]."-- Predators coach Peter Laviolette on P.K. Subban returning to Nashville

Devils projected lineup

Taylor Hall -- Jack Hughes -- Kyle Palmieri
Blake Coleman -- Travis Zajac -- Nikita Gusev
Miles Wood -- Kevin Rooney -- Wayne Simmonds
Jesper Boqvist -- Pavel Zacha -- Jesper Bratt
Andy Greene -- P.K. Subban
Damon Severson -- Sami Vatanen
Will Butcher -- Mirco Mueller
Louis Domingue
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scratched:John Hayden
Injured:Connor Carrick (finger), Matt Tennyson (upper body), Nico Hischier (illness)

Predators projected lineup

Filip Forsberg -- Ryan Johansen -- Calle Jarnkrok
Daniel Carr -- Kyle Turris -- Matt Duchene
Rocco Grimaldi -- Nick Bonino -- Craig Smith
Yakov Trenin -- Colton Sissons -- Austin Watson
Roman Josi -- Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm -- Dante Fabbro
Dan Hamhuis -- Matt Irwin
Pekka Rinne
Juuse Saros
Scratched:Yannick Weber
Injured:Viktor Arvidsson (lower body), Mikael Granlund (lower body)

Status report

The Devils did not hold a morning skate. The Predators held an optional morning skate. … Granlund did not participate in practice Wednesday or Friday. … Trenin was recalled from Milwaukee of the American Hockey League on Friday and skated with Sissons and Watson at practice. … … Simmonds will play against the Predators for the first time since signing a one-year contract with New Jersey on July 1. He played 17 games with Nashville last season.

Stat pack

Hall has 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 20 games against Nashville. … Duchene has 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in 17 games against New Jersey.