A weekend back-to-back set with the holiday break in sight begins tonight in Nashville as the Predators host the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 6 p.m. CT puck drop at Bridgestone Arena. This evening’s contest is the second and final meeting between the Preds and Leafs this season; Nashville fell in Toronto back in October.
The Predators completed a six-game stretch that only saw them face Colorado, St. Louis and Carolina over that span with a 4-1 loss to the Hurricanes on Wednesday night. Now, the Preds will look to get back in the win column after having won seven of 10 games prior to their most recent outing.
“I thought the third period was good, so we’ve got to take that with us,” Preds winger Filip Forsberg said following Wednesday’s game. “Probably could and should have had another one make it 3-2, and at that point, you never know what's going to happen. But, like I said, I think we had a little too slow a start, but we can take the end [of this game and build off of that].”
Preds forward Cole Smith returned to the lineup on Wednesday after missing 19 games due to injury. Nashville winger Jonathan Marchessault left Wednesday’s game in the second period and did not return with a lower-body injury. Marchessault did not practice on Friday and is officially listed as day-to-day.
The Good Guys:
Forsberg tallied the lone Nashville goal on Wednesday night to extend his point streak to six games (6g-3a), while Juuse Saros took the loss in net. Ryan O’Reilly, who played 13 games for the Maple Leafs in 2023, continues to lead the Preds with 27 points (10g-17a), followed by Forsbergh (15g-11a) with 26 points and Toronto native Luke Evangelista (4g-19a) with 23 points. Steven Stamkos has 12 goals on the season; Michael Bunting has nine tallies and Matthew Wood has eight goals. Saros is 12-11-3 in net; Justus Annunen is 1-5-1.
The Opposition:
The Maple Leafs have dropped three of their last four outings, including a 4-0 loss in Washington on Thursday night. William Nylander (11g-25a) leads the Leafs with 36 points, followed by John Tavares (13g-17a) with 30 points and Matthew Knies (7g-22a) with 29 points. Auston Matthews has 14 goals on the season. Joseph Woll is 5-3-1 in net this season; Dennis Hildeby, who lost Thursday, is 2-4-3.
All-Time Meetings:
The Preds are 16-16-(1)-2 all-time against the Maple Leafs, including an 8-6-(0)-1 mark at Bridgestone Arena. Nashville is 3-7-0 in its last 10 meetings vs. Toronto but 3-2-0 in the last five at home.
On Nov. 18, 2014, 15 Preds skaters reached the scoresheet, led by Taylor Beck's two goals and an assist, as Nashville tied a franchise record for goals in a game, topping Toronto 9-2 at Scotiabank Arena.
Notables Versus Toronto:
Ryan O’Reilly played the final 13 games of the 2022-23 regular season with the Maple Leafs, where he had four goals and 11 points. He added nine points (3g-6a) in 11 postseason games.
Michael Bunting played 161 games with the Maple Leafs, from 2021-23, posting 46 goals, 66 assists and 113 points.
Nashville has five players from the province of Ontario: Bunting (Scarborough), Luke Evangelista (Toronto), Nicolas Hague (Kitchener), O’Reilly (Clinton) and Steven Stamkos (Markham).
Stamkos has played against his hometown team 55 times in his career, tallying 66 points (23g-43a). His 43 helpers are the most he has recorded against any single franchise in his career.
Milestone Watch:
Steven Stamkos is three games from 1,200 in his NHL career.
Barry Trotz is three games from 200 as an NHL general manager.
Erik Haula is three assists from 200 in his NHL career.
Jonathan Marchessault is five assists from 300 in his NHL career.
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for Saturday Night in Smashville 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.)
