Game Day: Preds at Blue Jackets Preview

On the fourth full day of their current road trip, the Nashville Predators are finally set to play a game.
That contest comes tonight in Columbus, as the Preds take on the Blue Jackets in Nashville's first trip to Ohio this season. This evening marks the third of eight meetings between the one-time-division-foes-turned-rivals-again in the temporarily realigned Central. The Predators began the 2020-21 season back in January with a pair of wins over the Jackets at Bridgestone Arena.
\[View: Virtual, Interactive Preds Press
\[Read More: Preds Projected Lineup vs. Columbus\]

Nashville was expecting to play back-to-back games against the Stars in Dallas on Monday and Tuesday, but extreme weather conditions leading to widespread power outages across the state of Texas forced the postponement of both games. Those contests will be made up at later dates, which have yet to be announced, but after preparing for the Stars, the Preds have now turned their attention to Columbus in what has been a unique week, to say the least.

"It's been really interesting," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said of the trip. "You're not able to control the weather and things like that, but we feel for the people that are in Dallas, and it's a tough situation there. For us, we've tried to use [the time between games] as an opportunity for a little bit of rest, little bit of some team bonding… but we're ready for some hockey. We've been on a trip and haven't played any hockey. But I'm hoping, and we're hoping as an organization, that things in Dallas get settled in a little bit for those people and things get rectified there, and for us, we're excited to be in Columbus back on the ice today and ready to play."
The Predators practiced on Wednesday in Columbus, and none of their players on Injured Reserve, including Ryan Johansen and Brad Richardson, who are both on the trip, participated in the session. Preds GM David Poile said Tuesday on 102.5 The Game that it's more likely Nashville starts getting injured players back in the lineup next week.

The Good Guys:
With Monday's and Tuesday's games postponed, Nashville last played on Saturday night, a 4-2 loss to Detroit at Bridgestone Arena. Filip Forsberg and Rocco Grimaldi both scored in the third period, and Juuse Saros relieved Pekka Rinne in net for the third period. Rinne gave up three goals in the first two periods of that outing, and Saros made five saves in the third.
Forsberg leads the club in scoring with 14 points (7g-7a), followed by Matt Duchene (3g-5a) and Roman Josi (2g-6a) with eight points each. Grimaldi and Mikael Granlund are tied for second on the team with three goals apiece. Rinne is 3-5-0 in net for the Preds; Saros is 3-4-0.
The Opposition:
The Blue Jackets (7-6-4) are 3-3-1 in the month of February but have lost two straight, including a 7-3 defeat at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. Columbus made a notable trade back on Jan. 23 when they acquired forwards Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Pierre-Luc Dubois.
Cam Atkinson (6g-7a) and Oliver Bjorkstrand (4g-9a) co-lead the team in scoring with 13 points each, followed by Roslovic with 10 points (4g-6a) in 10 games. Boone Jenner (5g-4) and Nick Foligno (4g-5a) each have nine points apiece, and Laine has four goals and six points in seven games with Columbus. Elvis Merzlikins is expected to start for Columbus tonight; he's 2-2-1 on the season.

All-Time Meetings:
The Predators are 61-20-(1)-7 all-time against the Blue Jackets, including a 24-14-(0)-4 record on the road. The Preds have earned at least a point in nine of their last 10 games versus the Blue Jackets (8-1-1), including three consecutive victories.
Nashville is 3-1-1 in its last five games at Nationwide Arena and 6-3-1 in its last 10. The team's last regulation loss to Columbus on the road came on Nov. 20, 2015.
Notables Versus Columbus:
Filip Forsberg notched his fifth career hat trick on April 7, 2018, versus Columbus. He has 11 points (6g-5a) in 14 career meetings with the Blue Jackets.
In addition to posting 19 points (7g-12a) in 29 career games against Columbus, Matt Duchene played in 23 games for Nashville's new Central Division foe in 2018-19, recording 12 points (4g-8a).
Roman Josi is one of four players on the Predators (Forsberg, Duchene, Richardson) to tally at least 10 career points versus Columbus; he's picked up 13 points (2g-11a) in 23 contests against the Blue Jackets.
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for tonight's 6 p.m. CT puck drop from Nationwide Arena begins on FOX Sports Tennessee at 5:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show hosted by Lyndsay Rowley and Terry Crisp. Willy Daunic, Chris Mason and Kara Hammer have the call on the television side, while Pete Weber and Hal Gill will broadcast on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network. Pregame coverage on the radio begins at 5 p.m. with Darren McFarland. For broadcast information and channel locations throughout the country,
click here
.
Streaming Info:
Listen to a Live Radio Feed
(only active during the game broadcast window).
Watch a Live Stream of the game
on the Fox Sports Go App or
Watch on NHL.TV