Less than 24 hours after a loss to Chicago, the Nashville Predators will look to bounce back tonight when they host the Washington Capitals for a 6 p.m. CT puck drop at Bridgestone Arena. This evening’s contest is the first of two meetings between the Preds and Caps this season.
The Predators returned home from a six-game trip with a win over the Islanders on Thursday, but they were shut out, 3-0, last night by the Blackhawks. Now, Nashville will be eager for the chance to make up for Saturday’s outing.
“We’ll look at what needs to be looked at from tonight, and then cut it loose,” Preds defenseman Nic Hague said following last night’s loss. “Our mindset has to shift right away. I think that after a game like that tonight, I think that's going to be a good thing, and you'll learn from things. At the end of the day, we know what makes us good, and we were just off a little bit tonight. So, it's a good opportunity to come back and turn the page and show up with a better effort tomorrow.”
Nashville’s lineup was unchanged on Saturday night with defenseman Justin Barron serving as the lone healthy scratch.
The Good Guys:
Ryan O’Reilly (13g-24a) continues to lead the Preds with 37 points, followed by Filip Forsberg (16g-15a) with 31 points and Luke Evangelista, who has 25 assists and 31 points. Steven Stamkos paces the team with 18 goals, and Michael Bunting has 11 goals and 25 points. Juuse Saros, who took the loss last night, is now 17-15-3 in net; Justus Annunen is 3-5-1.
The Opposition:
The Capitals rebounded from a loss to Dallas with a 5-1 victory in Chicago on Friday night. Tom Wilson leads Washington with 22 goals and 42 points, followed by Alex Ovechkin with 19 goals and 38 points. John Carlson has 25 assists and 34 points from the backend. Logan Thompson is 16-12-4 in net; Charlie Lindgren is 7-4-2.
All-Time Meetings:
The Preds are 20-14-(1)-4 all-time against the Caps, including an 11-6-(1)-2 mark at home. Nashville is 5-5-0 in the last 10 versus Washington and 2-3-0 in the past five meetings at Bridgestone Arena.
Notables Versus Washington:
Filip Forsberg has 18 points (9g-9a) in 19 career games against the team that selected him 11th overall in the 2012 NHL Draft. Forsberg was acquired from Washington on April 3, 2013.
Erik Haula has recorded 19 points (8g-11a) in 28 games against the Capitals, the most he has tallied against a single franchise.
General Manager Barry Trotz won the 2018 Stanley Cup as head coach of the Capitals. He spent four seasons with Washington from 2014-18, going 205-89-34 in 328 games as head coach. Senior Advisor David Poile spent his first 15 years as an NHL GM at the helm of the Capitals from 1982-97.
Head Coach Andrew Brunette was selected by Washington – with Poile as its GM – in the seventh round (174th overall) of the 1993 NHL Draft. He played the first three seasons of his NHL career with the Capitals, recording 40 points (18g-22a) in 62 games from 1995-98.
Milestone Watch:
Nic Hague played in his 400th career game on Jan. 10 vs. Chicago.
Steven Stamkos is two goals from passing Jari Kurri for the 21st-most in NHL history.
Barry Trotz is three wins from 100 as an NHL general manager.
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for this evening’s contest begins at 5:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on FanDuel Sports Network South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley and Hal Gill. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic, analyst Chris Mason and rinkside reporter Kara Hammer will have the call on the television side.
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.)
