Game Day: Preds at Penguins Preview

The Nashville Predators (37-28-8) will face off against the Pittsburgh Penguins (36-28-10) Thursday at PPG Paints 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 Tuesday at Boston:
Afanasyev - Glass - Tomasino
Sherwood - Novak - Evangelista
Trenin - Sissons - Smith
Asplund - Jankowski - McCarron
McDonagh - Fabbro
Barrie - Lauzon
Gravel - Foote
Saros

Last Time Out

Nashville improved to 19-14-4 on the road in 2022-23 with Tuesday's win over Boston. The Predators closed out their two-game, regular-season series against the Bruins with a 1-1-0 record, and Nashville handed Boston just its fourth home regulation loss this season.
The Predators killed off all five of the Bruins power-play opportunities, and Cody Glass scored his second goal in as many games. Glass also assisted on Cole Smith's empty-net goal.
Juuse Saros stopped 35 of 36 shots and held Boston scoreless until David Pastrnak's goal with less than two seconds remaining in the third period. Former Bruins defenseman Jeremy Lauzon led all skaters in hits (7) and added an assist.

All-Time Meetings

The Predators are 14-14-(2)-4 all-time against the Penguins, including a 5-8-(2)-1 record on the road. This is the second and final matchup between Nashville and Pittsburgh in 2022-23 and the first and only at PPG Paints Arena.
Nashville is 0-1-0 against Pittsburgh this season, falling 3-1 on Feb. 28 at Bridgestone Arena. Former Penguins forward Mark Jankowski scored the lone goal for the Predators.
Nashville faced Pittsburgh in the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, falling in six games, 4-2. It was Nashville's first-ever trip to the Cup Final.

Notables vs. Pittsburgh

• Saros recorded his first career NHL win on Oct. 22, 2016 vs. the Penguins.
• Luke Evangelista made his NHL debut on Feb. 28, 2023 vs. Pittsburgh.
• Jankowski skated in 45 games for Pittsburgh in 2020-21, tallying 11 points (4g-7a).
• Lauzon's brother, Zachary, was drafted by Pittsburgh in the second round (51st overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft.
• Head Coach John Hynes served as head coach of Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, for five seasons from 2010-15.
• Defense Development Coach Rob Scuderi was an alternate captain on Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup-winning squad in 2009.
• The Predators acquired a second-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft from Pittsburgh for Mikael Granlund on March 1. Granlund had 162 points (51g-111a) in 268 games with Nashville from 2019-23.

The Good Guys

• Saros is 26-14-6 with a 2.63 goals-against average and .921 save percentage in his last 46 games dating back to Nov. 12. His 26 wins in that time frame are tied for the fifth-most in the NHL; he is tied for fourth in save percentage since Nov. 12 (among goalies with at least 20 GP). He's made at least 30 saves in 25 of those games; he's faced at least 30 shots in 31 of those outings. Out of Saros' 29 wins this season, 16 have come in games decided by one goal.
• Roman Josi (currently day-to-day with an upper-body injury) has 53 points (17g-36a) in his last 57 games after scoring on March 16 vs. Chicago. He has recorded at least one point in 23 of his last 33 contests.
• Evangelista has nine points (5g-4a) in his first 15 career NHL games after recording a career-high four points (2g-2a) on March 21 at Buffalo. Evangelista became the second rookie in Predators history to record a four-point game, joining Dan Hamhuis (1g-4a on March 4, 2004 at Pittsburgh). All four of his points came in the second period, Evangelista recorded three points in a span of 6:01, marking the fastest a rookie has ever done so for the Predators. Since his NHL debut on Feb. 28 vs. Pittsburgh, Evangelista is third among NHL rookies in points (9).
• Tommy Novak has 34 points (14g-20a) in 42 games with Nashville since being recalled from Milwaukee (AHL) on Dec. 19. In a 21-game span since Feb. 18, Novak has posted 23 points (10g-13a) - tied for the 16th-most among NHL skaters - including six multi-point efforts. Since his season debut, only Josi (12g-24a) has posted more points than Novak for Nashville.
• Since making his season debut on Feb. 13 vs. Arizona, Philip Tomasino has recorded 16 points (4g-12a) in 22 games. He has 10 points (2g-8a) in his last 10 games after tallying an assist on Sunday vs. Toronto.
• After opening the season with three points (1g-2a) in his first 16 appearances (Oct. 7-Dec. 12), Glass owns 27 points (11g-16a) in his last 47 games. He's found the scoresheet in 16 of his last 32 games (8g-11a) and established career highs in goals (12), assists (18) and points (30) this season.
• Tyson Barrie posted a four-game point streak (2g-4a) from March 21-26. Since being acquired from Edmonton on Feb. 28, the defenseman has recorded nine points (3g-6a) in 15 games.
• Kiefer Sherwood has points in six of his last 14 games (3g-4a).
• Colton Sissons tallied an assist on March 14 vs. Detroit to give him 14 points (5g-9a) in his last 32 outings. Sitting at 27 points (11g-16a), he is three from matching his career high of 30, set in 2018-19 (15g-15a).

The Other Guys

The Penguins, currently in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division, are 4-6-0 in their last 10 after a 7-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.
Sidney Crosby leads the Penguins with 85 points (31g-54a); Jake Guentzel has a team-high 33 goals, including three in his last five games.

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.
Pete Weber and Hal Gill will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network, with pregame, postgame and intermission coverage by Max Herz. The game will also be broadcast in Spanish on El Jefe which airs on 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM.