After a pair of outings on the road, a two-game homestand begins tonight for the Nashville Predators when they host the Colorado Avalanche for an 8:30 p.m. CT start at Bridgestone Arena. Tonight’s contest is the second of four meetings between the division rivals this season and the first of two this week.
The Preds began their trip last week with an overtime victory in Florida before falling to the Hurricanes in Raleigh on Saturday. Now, they’ll look to get back to playing the way that brought them wins in four of five contests as they face the top team in the NHL.
“Well, we’ve got to refocus,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said following Saturday’s loss in Carolina. “Obviously, we'll address some of the things that we're doing wrong here, especially the penalty trouble. It's one of those things where you kind of got to straighten out as it rears its ugly head back here again.”
Predators forward Cole Smith, who remains on IR with an upper-body injury, practiced with the team on Monday for the first time since he was injured last month. Brunette spoke positively about Smith being back with the team for practice, but said it’s unclear as to when he’ll return to the lineup.
The Good Guys:
Michael Bunting, Matthew Wood and Filip Forsberg all tallied in the third period of Saturday’s 6-3 loss to the Hurricanes with Forsberg recording his 700th NHL point. Ryan O’Reilly (9g-12a) continues to lead the Preds with 21 points, followed by Forsberg (10g-9a) and Luke Evangelista (4g-15a) with 19 points apiece. Both Wood and Steven Stamkos have eight goals on the season; Bunting has seven. Juuse Saros is 9-10-3 in net; Justus Annunen is 1-4-1.
The Opposition:
Colorado has lost just twice in regulation this season and defeated both the Rangers and Flyers over the weekend. Nathan MacKinnon leads the Avalanche - and the entire NHL - with 24 goals and 49 points in just 29 games, and Cale Makar paces all NHL defensemen with 35 points on the season. Martin Necas has 14 goals and 39 points as well. Former Preds goaltender Scott Wedgewood is 13-1-3 in net; Mackenzie Blackwood is 8-1-1.
All-Time Meetings:
The Preds are 51-39-(5)-5 all-time against the Avalanche, including a 28-18-(3)-2 mark at home. Nashville is 4-4-2 in the last 10 versus Colorado but 4-1-0 in their last five meetings at Bridgestone Arena.
Notables Versus Colorado:
Filip Forsberg notched his fourth career hat trick on Feb. 23, 2017, vs. the Avalanche. He has averaged nearly a point per game in his career against Colorado, recording 39 points (19g-20a) in 40 games, including five game-winning goals, which is tied for the most he has against any single team (Stars).
Since 2018-19, Ryan O’Reilly has recorded an NHL-high 25 points (9g-16a) against the Avalanche. O’Reilly was drafted by Colorado in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft. He spent six seasons with the Avalanche from 2009-15, recording 246 points (90g-156a) in 427 games.
Goaltender Justus Annunen was acquired from Colorado on Nov. 30, 2024 in exchange for Scott Wedgewood. Annunen was drafted by the Avalanche in the third round (64th overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft and posted a 16-9-2 record and 2.81 goals-against average in 29 career games (24 starts) with Colorado.
Colorado defenseman Samuel Girard was selected by the Predators in the second round (47th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft. He skated in five games for Nashville in 2017-18, tallying three points (1g-2a).
Milestone Watch:
Luke Evangelista is one game from 200 in his career.
Erik Haula is four assists from 200 in his NHL career.
Jonathan Marchessault is five assists from 300 in his NHL career.
API Music Heritage Night:
This evening marks API Music Heritage Night in Smashville. The first 5,000 fans through the Bridgestone Arena doors receive an API Music Heritage poster, and the Music Heritage Stage in the Nissan Atrium will showcase a number of different performances leading up to puck drop.
Fans are invited to participate in the Smashville Stamps activity by visiting all six activation tables around the Bridgestone Arena concourse to fill their activity card with custom stamps for a special surprise. The activity card and hand-carved stamps were designed by logo artist Heather Moulder.
The Gnashville Fun Zone will have origami and lantern making for young fans, plus, stop by the Preds Foundation area to bid on API player-signed jerseys and/or purchase mystery pucks.
Watch & Listen:
Tonight’s game will be broadcast nationally on TNT, truTV and HBO MAX. Voice of the Predators Pete Weber and Jay More will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network, with pregame, postgame and intermission coverage by Max Herz beginning one hour before puck drop. The game will also be broadcast in Spanish on El Jefe which airs on 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM. (El partido también se transmite en español por El Jefe en 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM y 810 AM.)
