Penguins at Predators preview

PENGUINS (21-11-4) at PREDATORS (18-12-6)
8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV

Josi has nine points (seven goals, two assists) in his past five games. His five-game goal streak is an NHL career high and is the longest by a defenseman since Mike Green scored in an NHL-record eight consecutive games with the Washington Capitals from Jan. 27-Feb. 14, 2009.
The Predators are 4-0-1 in their past five games and 9-3-3 in their past 15.
The Penguins are 4-1-0 in their past five games and are 10-4-0 in their past 14. Defenseman Kris Letang has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past five games.

Players to watch

Penguins forward Bryan Rust has eight points (four goals, four assists) in his past six games.
Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past five games.

They said it

"I just know that they're a hard team. I think they've won six of their last 10 games, so they're feeling good about themselves. It's going to be a strange game. Both teams have been off for three or four days each, so it might be a little bit of a slop fest to start." -- Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese on facing the Predators
"Obviously [Sidney Crosby] isn't playing, but they've got [Evgeni Malkin] and a couple of big guys who can score a lot of goals. Every time you play them, they're a dangerous team. They're fast. They're skilled. It's always an up-and-down game." -- Predators defenseman Roman Josi on playing the Penguins

Penguins projected lineup

Jake Guentzel -- Evgeni Malkin -- Bryan Rust
Alex Galchenyuk -- Jared McCann -- Dominik Kahun
Zach Aston-Reese -- Teddy Blueger -- Brandon Tanev
Sam Lafferty --
Joseph Blandisi
-- Dominik Simon
Jack Johnson -- Kris Letang
Juuso Riikola -- John Marino
Marcus Pettersson -- Chad Ruhwedel
Tristan Jarry
Matt Murray
Scratched: Thomas Di Pauli, Kevin Czuczman
Injured: Sidney Crosby (core muscle), Nick Bjugstad (lower body), Brian Dumoulin (lower body), Patric Hornqvist (lower body), Justin Schultz (lower body)

Predators projected lineup

Calle Jarnkrok -- Ryan Johansen -- Viktor Arvidsson
Filip Forsberg -- Matt Duchene -- Mikael Granlund
Rocco Grimaldi -- Kyle Turris -- Craig Smith
Colton Sissons -- Nick Bonino -- Austin Watson
Roman Josi -- Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm -- Dante Fabbro
Dan Hamhuis -- Matt Irwin
Pekka Rinne
Juuse Saros
Scratched: Yannick Weber, Jarred Tinordi, Colin Blackwell
Injured: None

Status report

Hornqvist participated in the morning skate but will not play. … The Predators recalled Blackwell and Tinordi from Milwaukee of the American Hockey League on Friday.

Stat pack

Malkin has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 12 games against the Predators. … Rinne is 3-5-3 with a 3.06 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage in 11 games against the Penguins.