Golden Knights at Predators preview

GOLDEN KNIGHTS (17-9-1) at PREDATORS (18-7-3)
8 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, FS-TN, NHL.TV

P.K. Subban, 28, is in his ninth NHL season. Malcolm Subban, 23, has emerged as the Golden Knights' No. 1 goaltender after being claimed on waivers from the Boston Bruins on Oct. 3. Friday will be his 12th NHL game.
Golden Knights forward James Neal will play against the Predators for the first time since being left exposed in the NHL Expansion Draft. Neal was with the Predators for three seasons, through their run to the Stanley Cup Final last season.
The Predators have won three consecutive games and are 8-1-1 in their past 10 games. They can move into first place in the Western Conference with a win.

Players to watch

Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in his past eight games.
Predators forward Kyle Turris has five points (one goal, four assists) during a three-game point streak.

They said it

"I'm just trying to go and try to do the normal morning skate and go about your business, but I'm not quite sure. Everybody's been super nice from social media to seeing everyone here. Like I said, it's good to be back and great memories here. I'm sure it'll be tough tonight for sure." -- Golden Knights forward James Neal, on the emotion of his return to Nashville
"Just like any other brothers that have ever played with each other or played against each other, it's a pretty special moment when you do it. I think that, for him, he's worked really, really hard to get to the NHL. The start of his career has been great, so I'm just going to take in the whole moment." -- Predators defenseman P.K. Subban, on potentially playing against his younger brother, Golden Knights goaltender Malcolm Subban

Golden Knights projected lineup

Jonathan Marchessault -- William Karlsson -- Reilly Smith
David Perron -- Erik Haula -- James Neal
Brendan Leipsic -- Cody Eakin -- Alex Tuch
Tomas Nosek -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Stefan Matteau
Luca Sbisa -- Nate Schmidt
Shea Theodore -- Deryk Engelland
Colin Miller -- Brayden McNabb
Malcolm Subban
Maxime Lagace
Scratched: Jon Merrill, Oscar Lindberg
Injured:Marc-Andre Fleury (concussion), Oscar Dansk (lower body), William Carrier (lower body)

Predators projected lineup

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

Status report

Perron participated in the morning skate and will be a game-time decision. He was activated from injured reserve Friday. He's missed the past six games because of an upper-body injury. … The Predators held an optional morning skate. Lindback was recalled and goaltender Juuse Saros was re-assigned to the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League. Johansen was placed on injured reserve.

Stat pack

Neal has 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in 13 career games against the Predators. … Forsberg has 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in his past 13 games. Fiala has a three-game goal streak.