Preview: Blues at Predators

BLUES (16-9-4) at PREDATORS (12-11-4)
8 p.m. ET; FS-MW, FS-TN, NHL.TV

Blues team scope

St. Louis Blues defenseman Carl Gunnarsson will miss his third game with a lower-body injury. Defenseman Brad Hunt has filled in on a pairing with Kevin Shattenkirk. "We're going to stay with Hunt today, but [Gunnarsson] is close," coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Getting better but in our evaluation, [Monday] was really the first full practice that he went through. Today was just an optional skate so we hope to get a full practice in with [Gunnarsson] on Wednesday and see if he's ready for Thursday [against the New Jersey Devils], but having only one practice to me isn't enough of an evaluation, and I don't think it's fair to him to put him in yet." Forward David Perron will play in his 600th game. Forward Alexander Steen is three points from 500 for his NHL career.

Predators team scope

Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis and forward Colton Sissons were activated off injured reserve Tuesday and could return to the lineup. Ellis has missed eight games and Sissons seven, each with an upper-body injury. Goaltender Pekka Rinne is one win from his 250th in the League and expects a competitive game against the Blues. "I think it's two similar teams that work hard," Rinne said. "They have an extremely hard-working team. Any time you face them, you know you're going to be in a battle. They have a physical team too so you've got to be prepared for this one. It's always a fun team to play against. If you want to be successful against them, you've got to bring the best out of you." The Predators are 2-4-1 in their past seven games after going 7-2-0 in the previous nine games. They are 9-2-2 at Bridgestone Arena.

Blues projected lineup

Alexander Steen -- Paul Stastny -- David Perron
Robby Fabbri -- Jaden Schwartz -- Vladimir Tarasenko
Jori Lehtera -- Patrik Berglund -- Nail Yakupov
Scottie Upshall -- Kyle Brodziak -- Ryan Reaves
Jay Bouwmeester -- Alex Pietrangelo
Brad Hunt -- Kevin Shattenkirk
Joel Edmundson -- Colton Parayko
Jake Allen
Carter Hutton
Scratched:Dmitrij Jaskin, Ty Rattie
Injured:Robert Bortuzzo (lower body), Carl Gunnarsson (lower body)

Predators projected lineup

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

Status report

Each team held an optional skate. … Allen is expected to start for the Blues. … Rinne is expected to start for the Predators.

Who's hot

Tarasenko has one goal and four assists in his past three games, and leads the Blues with 14 goals and 32 points. … Arvidsson has two goals and one assist in his past three games.