PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Predators

The Edmonton Oilers will face off against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night at Rogers Place.

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PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Predators

EDMONTON, AB – Just as Spencer Stastney had never known what it was like to be traded, he’s going to experience what it’s like to face his former team for the first time on Tuesday night when the Edmonton Oilers host the Nashville Predators at Rogers Place as they look to get back into the win column.

“I was really close to guys on the back end, but I'm sure Evangelista will have something to say to me,” Stastney said. “But I'm still tight with all those guys. It's going to be a fun game every shift, just going out there with guys I know and love. I've never experienced it before, but I'm looking forward to it.”

The defenceman was acquired by the Oilers back on Dec. 12 in a deal with the Predators nearly three weeks ago alongside the trade for Tristan Jarry from the Pittsburgh Penguins, and his move to Edmonton has proved seamless despite having never been traded before in his career.

Stastney played his first 81 NHL games with the Predators over parts of three seasons and got the chance to catch up with his old teammates before the Oilers practiced at Rogers Place on Monday, talking to them face-to-face for the first time in almost three weeks, but it'll be a different relationship on the ice.

The Oilers are looking to put an end to some defensive struggles since New Year's Eve and increase their offence, while the Predators are looking to continue their recent run of results that have them competing back near the playoff places thanks to a strong month of December and their offensive turnaround.

"I know they're playing well right now. I've been keeping track of their progress since I left," Stastney said. "They're playing good hockey and they're scoring goals, so I think we're just going to try to use this game as a way to get back on the winning side and end it with a win."

Nashville has put together a 7-3-0 record over its past 10 games to pull to within one point of a Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, having beaten the Calgary Flames 4-3 on Saturday in the penultimate game of their six-game road trip. Michael Bunting had a goal and three assists for the Predators, who won it late with 29 seconds left in regulation through Nicolas Hague as they continue to build some mid-season momentum after a slow start to the campaign.

Steven Stamkos scored his 600^th career goal last week and needs one more goal to tie Oilers Legend Jari Kurri for 21^st on the NHL’s all-time goal scoring list. The 35-year-old leads the Predators with 18 goals this season and has 24 points (14 goals) in his last 19 games after only having five points in his first 22.

Meanwhile, the Oilers have dropped three of their last four games, including their first of 2026 on Saturday afternoon in a 5-2 loss at the hands of the Flyers. Connor McDavid kept his point streak intact with a goal and an assist to extend it to 15 games, totalling 36 points (14G, 22A), and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins recorded his 499^th career assist, but the Oilers couldn’t recover from a multi-goal deficit in the first period for the second game in a row.

Goaltender Connor Ingram is also looking for a bounce-back game after allowing six goals on 29 shots in his last appearance against the Bruins on Dec. 31 and is expected to be back between the pipes against the Predators, having given way to Calvin Pickard on Saturday to make 25 saves against the Flyers.

"A good thing about this league is that you don't have time to think about it or dwell on it," Ingram said. "We're right back to work the next day, so I think that's an advantage of being here is that you don't have time to think about it. It's like anything else. Everybody's gonna have good days and bad days. It's just staying true to it and going out there and doing the best you can."

Kasperi Kapanen appears close to making his return from a lower-body injury he sustained on Oct. 19 against Detroit and reaggravated a month later, leading to a 36-game injury absence after recording two assists in the first six games of the season. Quinn Hutson was reassigned to the Bakersfield Condors.