A three-game homestand with the holiday break in sight begins tonight as the Nashville Predators host the Carolina Hurricanes for a 7 p.m. CT puck drop at Bridgestone Arena. This evening’s contest is the second and final meeting between the Preds and Canes this season; Nashville fell to Carolina less than two weeks ago in Raleigh.
Despite that recent result, the Predators have won seven of their last 10 outings, including a 5-2 victory on Monday night in St. Louis. Now, Nashville will look to continue their mostly consistent solid play of late into tonight against one of the League’s top teams.
“Obviously, [they’re] a team we just played recently coming into our building on Wednesday, with Carolina, and they’re a fast, tenacious team,” Preds winger Filip Forsberg said following Monday’s win. “So, it'll be even more important [to be efficient] with the breakouts and trying to limit their odd-man rushes a little bit. Last game against them, we gave up a lot, and we can't do that against them. So, it’ll be another good one.”
“Just take a breath and get ready to go to work,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said of heading home. “Our goal here is to win the week, and we won today. [We’ve] got a huge one coming up against arguably one of the best teams in the League, and we’ve got to be ready to go.”
Nashville’s lineup remained the same on Monday with Cole Smith and Justin Barron staying on Injured Reserve. There were no healthy scratches for the Preds.
The Predators did not practice on Tuesday, but they are expected to hold a morning skate ahead of tonight’s game.
The Good Guys:
Forsberg recorded his 11th career hat trick to lead the Preds past the Blues on Monday night. Michael Bunting and Reid Schaefer also tallied, and Juuse Saros collected the win in net.
Forsberg became the fifth Swedish player to record 50 multi-goal games, joining Mats Sundin (81), Tomas Sandstrom (66), Daniel Alfredsson (64) and Markus Naslund (52). Forsberg also tied Markus Naslund (11) for the second-most hat tricks by a Swedish player. Kent Nilsson tops the list with 14.
Ryan O’Reilly (10g-16a) continues to lead the Preds with 26 points, followed by Forsberg (14g-11a) with 25 points and Luke Evangelista (4g-19a) with 23 points. Steven Stamkos has 12 goals on the season; Bunting has nine and Matthew Wood has eight. Saros is now 12-10-3 in net; Justus Annunen is 1-5-1.
The Opposition:
The Hurricanes have won four straight, including a pair of shootout victories against the Flyers over the weekend. Seth Jarvis leads Carolina with 18 goals and 26 points, followed by Sebastian Aho (9g-17a) who also has 26 points. Shayne Gostisbehere has 21 helpers and 24 points from the backend; Nikolaj Ehlers has eight goals and 22 points with his new club. Brandon Bussi is 11-1-0 in his first NHL season between the pipes for Carolina.
All-Time Meetings:
The Preds are 22-21-(1)-4 all-time against the Hurricanes, including a 13-9-(0)-1 mark at home. Nashville is 6-4-0 in the last 10 versus Carolina and 3-2-0 in the last five at Bridgestone Arena.
Notables Versus Carolina:
Brady Skjei skated in 302 games for the Hurricanes from 2020-24, notching 135 points (43g-92a). Skjei established a career high in points with the Hurricanes in 2023-24, leading team blueliners with 47 (13g-34a).
Michael Bunting played 60 games for Carolina in 2023-24, recording 36 points (13g-23a).
Erik Haula played 41 games for Carolina in 2019-20, recording 22 points (12g-10a).
Tyson Jost played 39 games for Carolina in 2024-25, recording nine points (4g-5a).
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for tonight’s contest begins at 6:30 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.)
