Game Day: Preds at Coyotes Preview

The Nashville Predators (28-22-6) will visit the Arizona Coyotes (20-29-9) for a Central Division matchup Sunday at Mullett Arena.
The puck drops at 6 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on Bally Sports South, 102.5 The Game and El Jefe Radio. Here's everything you need to know:

Line 'Em Up

Below are Nashville's lines from Thursday at San Jose:
Granlund - Glass - Tomasino
Niederreiter* - Novak - Duchene
Trenin - Parssinen - Sherwood
Smith - Sissons - Jeannot
McDonagh - Josi
Ekholm - Lauzon
Gravel - Fabbro
Saros
* Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced on Saturday that the team acquired a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for forward Nino Niederreiter.

Last Time Out

Nashville improved to 12-12-3 on the road in 2022-23 with Thursday's win over San Jose. The Predators closed out their three-game regular-season series against the Sharks with a 3-0-0 record.
Nashville scored twice on the power play and once shorthanded. Yakov Trenin scored his second and Nashville's third shorthanded goal of the season, and Mikael Granlund tallied a season-high three points (2g-1a); it was his first multi-goal game since Feb. 27, 2020 vs. Calgary (2g).
Matt Duchene recorded three assists and was one of five Predators skaters with multiple points. Niederreiter scored twice to give him four goals in his last three games. Philip Tomasino (2a) notched his first multi-point game of the season, and Tommy Novak had two points (1g-1a) to extend his point streak to four games (4g-4a).

All-Time Meetings

The Predators are 41-31-(2)-6 all-time against the Coyotes, including a 15-19-(0)-5 record on the road. This will be Nashville's first-ever game at Mullett Arena. This is the third of four matchups between Nashville and Arizona in 2022-23 and the first of two on the road.
Nashville is 1-1-0 against Arizona this season, dropping the most recent matchup, 4-2, at Bridgestone Arena on Feb. 13. The Predators earned a 4-3 shootout victory over the Coyotes on Nov. 21.

Notables vs. Arizona

• Duchene owns 27 career points (13g-14a) against Arizona, the most among Predators skaters.
• Roman Josi has 15 points (7g-8a) in his last eight games vs. the Coyotes, including a four-point effort on Nov. 13, 2021 (2g-2a).
• Coyotes goaltender Connor Ingram was claimed on waivers from Nashville on Oct. 10. He made his first three career NHL starts with the Predators and started three of Nashville's four postseason games in 2022.
• Arizona goaltender Karel Vejmelka was selected by the Predators in the fifth round (145th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft.

The Good Guys

• Goaltender Juuse Saros is 19-10-4 with a 2.64 goals-against average and .922 save percentage in his last 33 games dating back to Nov. 12. His 19 wins in that time frame are tied for the second-most in the NHL. He's made at least 30 saves in 19 of his last 32 games; he's faced at least 30 shots in 24 of those outings.
• Josi owns the Predators team lead in points with 51 (15g-36a). He has recorded at least one point in 19 of his last 23 contests; he posted a season-high six-game point streak from Jan. 21-Feb. 13 (1g-7a). He is currently on a four-game point streak (2g-5a), a run that has included consecutive multi-point efforts on Feb. 18 vs. Florida (1g-2a) and Feb. 19 at Minnesota (1g-1a).
• Duchene has 25 points (11g-14a) in his last 28 games, including his first multi-goal game of the season on Jan. 24 vs. Los Angeles. He's recorded points in seven of his last 11 games (6g-6a), tallying multiple points in four of those outings. He matched his season high in assists on Thursday at San Jose (3a).
• Novak has 19 points (8g-11a) in 25 games with Nashville since being recalled from Milwaukee (AHL) on Dec. 19. He recorded his first career multi-goal game on Feb. 18 vs. Florida (2g) and followed it up with a season-high three points on Feb. 19 at Minnesota (1g-2a). Novak is currently on a four-game point streak (4g-4a).

The Other Guys

The Coyotes have lost two of their last three contests, most recently dropping a 6-3 decision to the Calgary Flames on Wednesday. The last time Arizona won a game in regulation was Feb. 13 against Nashville.
Clayton Keller leads all Coyotes skaters in points (55), goals (24) and assists (31). Mattias Macelli leads all NHL rookies with 25 assists and ranks fourth among league rookies in points with 29.

Watch & Listen

Coverage for Thursday's game begins at 5:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on Bally Sports South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic and analyst Chris Mason will have the call on the television side.
Max Herz and Hal Gill will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network. The game will also be broadcast in Spanish on El Jefe which airs on 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM.