Nashville Predators (6-4-5, 17 pts.) vs. Colorado Avalanche (9-6-1, 19 pts.)
8:30 p.m. CT | Ball Arena
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: 102.5 The Game, Preds Radio Network
Live Stats: GameCenter
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Following a successful five-game homestand, the Nashville Predators are back on the road for a single contest tonight as they face the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena for an 8:30 p.m. CT puck drop. Tonight’s outing is the second of four meetings between the division rivals this season; the Preds beat the Avs in Nashville less than two weeks ago by a 6-2 final.
The Predators recorded points in four of their five games on the recent homestand, including a pair of wins over Tampa Bay and Carolina, the latter of which came on Tuesday. Now, Nashville will look for a third straight win overall when they face an Avalanche team just two points ahead of them in the standings.
The Preds will also have some special guests in the crowd tonight with their 2026 Dads’ Trip taking place in Denver - and it’s a game everyone is looking forward to.
“Playing on the road in Colorado, obviously one of the hardest buildings to play in, we’re definitely going to need some of that dad strength,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said Wednesday. “But when you have the dads in town, there's a little extra motivation.”
The Predators practiced on Wednesday in Nashville and had nearly full participation save for Jonathan Marchessault, who did not play Tuesday and is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Last Time Out:
Nick Perbix, Josi, Adam Edstrom and Ross Colton all found the back of the net, and Juuse Saros made 29 saves to give the Preds an impressive 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. Filip Forsberg dished out a pair of assists, and Shane Wright made his Predators debut after being acquired from Seattle on Sunday. Wright had a +2 rating on the night after centering Forsberg and Nils Hoglander.
Forsberg leads the Preds in scoring (5g-14a) with 19 points, followed by Josi with 15 assists and 17 points. Steven Stamkos has eight goals and 16 points on the season, while Ryan O’Reilly has seven goals and 15 points. Edstrom has a career-high six goals for Nashville. Saros is now 4-3-4 in net, while former Avalanche goaltender Justus Annunen is 2-1-0.
All-Time Meetings:
The Predators are 54-40-(5)-5 all-time against the Avalanche, including a 24-23-(2)-3 mark on the road. Nashville is 5-4-1 in the last 10 versus Colorado and 1-3-1 in the last five meetings in Denver.
Ryan O’Reilly was selected by Colorado in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft. He played 427 games for Colorado from 2009-15, recording 246 points (90g-156a).
Justus Annunen was selected by Colorado in the third round (64th overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft. He played 29 games for Colorado from 2021-24, going 16-9-2 with two shutouts.
Ross Colton played 214 games for Colorado from 2023-25, recording 93 points (42g-51a); Jack Drury played 115 games for Colorado from 2024-26, recording 36 points (15g-21a); Alexander Kerfoot played 157 games for Colorado from 2017-19, recording 85 points (34g-51a).
Nashville Notables:
The Predators’ power play ranks tied for fourth-best in the NHL, operating at 30.6 percent (15-for-49). The penalty kill ranks third in the league (89.4 percent); Nashville is the only team in the league with both special team units in the top five of each category.
Nashville went 4-for-7 on the power play in a win on Oct. 25 vs. Colorado; the team’s four power-play goals were tied for the third-most in a game in franchise history and most since Jan. 7, 2012.
Per NHL Stats, Filip Forsberg (2a) became the fourth Swedish player in the past 15 years to record a five-game multi-point streak, joining William Nylander (5 GP in 2023-24), Elias Lindholm (5 GP in 2018-19) and William Karlsson (5 GP in 2017-18).
Roman Josi tied Scott Niedermayer (39) for the eighth most game-winning goals by a defenseman in NHL history.
Milestone Watch:
Roman Josi passed Doug Wilson for the 23rd-most assists by a defenseman in NHL history on Tuesday vs. Carolina. He is one assist from passing Sergei Gonchar for sole possession of the 22nd-most. Josi is four goals from passing Larry Robinson and tying Zdeno Chara for the 23rd-most all-time by a blueliner. Josi is four points from 800 in his NHL career.
Steven Stamkos is one power-play goal from passing Phil Esposito and moving into a tie with Luc Robitaille for the fifth-most in NHL history.
Watch & Listen:
Tonight’s game from Colorado will be shown exclusively on ESPN+. Click here for more information on streaming and viewing options.
Fans may also listen on 102.5 The Game, the Preds Radio Network and El Jefe Radio.
