The Nashville Predators (8-10-0) will look for their fourth straight win as they visit the St. Louis Blues (10-7-1) on Friday at Enterprise Center.
Puck drop is at 2 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 Wednesday’s game vs. Calgary:
Forsberg - O’Reilly - Nyquist
Sherwood - Pärssinen - Evangelista
Trenin - Sissons - Foudy
Smith - McCarron - Tomasino
McDonagh - Josi
Lauzon - Carrier
Stastney - Barrie
Saros
Lankinen
Scratch: Fabbro
IR: Schenn, Novak, Glass
LAST TIME OUT
Nashville improved to 6-4-0 at Bridgestone Arena in 2023-24 with Wednesday’s 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames. The Predators are now 1-1-0 against the Flames this season after winning their third straight game, their longest such streak of the season.
The Predators had a season-high 45 shots on goal, including 16 in the first period. Colton Sissons scored his second shorthanded goal of the season, Nashville scored a power-play goal and shorthanded goal in the same game for the first time this season.
Ryan McDonagh had two assists in his return to the lineup after missing the previous seven games seven with a lower-body injury. Alexandre Carrier scored his first goal of the season, and Juuso Pärssinen scored his third goal of 2023-24 and first since Oct. 12 vs. Seattle. All but one of Nashville’s 18 skaters recorded a shot on goal, led by Roman Josi’s seven.
ALL-TIME MEETINGS
The Predators are 61-48-(4)-13 all-time against the Blues, including a 27-29-(1)-6 record on the road. This is the first of three matchups between Nashville and St. Louis in 2023-24 and the first of two at Enterprise Center.
Nashville went 2-1-1 against the Blues last season, winning both games at Bridgestone Arena and claiming a point in a 1-0 overtime loss on Dec. 12, 2022 in St. Louis. The Predators have won 14 of their last 24 games against St. Louis – including 12 of their last 21 – and have scored at least four goals in 10 of those wins.
NOTABLES VS. ST. LOUIS
- Josi has 28 points (6g-22a) in 47 career meetings with the Blues.
- Filip Forsberg has produced at a point-per-game rate against St. Louis in his career, recording 15 goals and 20 assists in 35 meetings with Nashville’s Central Division rival.
- Juuse Saros recorded his first career NHL shutout on Dec. 30, 2016 at St. Louis.
- Ryan O’Reilly spent five seasons with the Blues, serving as team captain and winning the Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe and Selke Trophy in 2019. He recorded 269 points (97g-172a) in 327 games with St. Louis from 2019-23.
- Luke Schenn’s brother, Brayden, currently serves as St. Louis’ captain.
- Predators Assistant Coach Dan Hinote played three seasons with the Blues from 2006-09, posting 25 points (11g-14a) in 150 games.
- Predators Assistant General Manager, Director of Player Development and Milwaukee Admirals General Manager Scott Nichol concluded his NHL career by playing two seasons in St. Louis from 2011-13, skating in 110 games.
THE GOOD GUYS
Scoresberg: Forsberg leads Nashville in points with 21 (9g-12a) after scoring twice on Monday vs. Colorado. He recorded a season-long five-game point streak from Nov. 9-20 (7g-2a); he has recorded multiple goals in three of his last six games and has points in nine of his last 11 contests (8g-8a). Forsberg is tied for third in the NHL in goals (8) and tied for 12th in points (13) in the month of November. His seven goals since Nov. 9 are tied for the most among League skaters. Forsberg is also fourth among all NHL skaters in shot attempts (156) and tied for sixth in shots on goal (77).
The Captain: Josi has points in 10 of his last 15 games (3g-9a), including a four-game point streak from Oct. 28-Nov. 4 (2g-3a). He scored his first goal of the season, the OT winner, on Oct. 28 vs. Toronto, and added his first power-play goal of the campaign on Nov. 2 at Seattle. Per NHL EDGE, Josi has skated the third-longest total distance among NHL defensemen on the power play this season (12.73 miles).
The Gus Bus: Gustav Nyquist extended his point streak to six games (1g-7a) with an assist on Wednesday vs. Calgary.
Sizzlin’ Hot: Sissons is tied for third on the Predators in goals with six. Through 18 games, he is already halfway to his season total of 12 goals in 82 games in 2022-23. He has scored multiple shorthanded goals in a season for the first time in his NHL career, and he is one of 12 players to score at least two shorthanded goals in 2023-24.
The O’Reilly Factor: O’Reilly recorded his fifth career NHL hat trick on Nov. 4 at Edmonton in a four-point effort (3g-1a). He now has 13 points (7g-6a) in his last 11 games after scoring on Wednesday vs. Calgary, which also extended his point streak to five games (2g-4a). His nine goals from the high-danger zone are tied for the third-most in the NHL per NHL EDGE.
Red-Hot Rookie: Luke Evangelista has nine points (1g-8a) in his last 13 games, including two multi-point efforts. He’s tied for eighth among NHL rookies in points with nine (1g-8a).
The Juice Man: Saros is tied for third in games played (15) and starts (15) among NHL goaltenders. He became the seventh Finnish-born goaltender in NHL history to appear in 300 career games on Monday vs. Colorado.
On the Attack: Through 18 games, the Predators are fifth in the NHL in expected goal percentage (5-on-5) at 54.5 percent and sixth in expected goal differential (5-on-5) at 6.20 per MoneyPuck.com. Nashville is also third in the NHL in high-danger shots for at 5-on-5 (45).
Power Play: The Predators are tied for eighth in the NHL in power-play goals with 15; Nashville has scored multiple power-play goals in the same game four times this season.
Heavy Hitters: Nashville is fifth in the NHL in hits (364). It is second in hits per 60 minutes (20.2) and 15th in blocked shots per 60 minutes (15.9). Yakov Trenin (47) and Cole Smith (44) rank among the top-20 NHL skaters in hits, while Carrier is tied for seventh among NHL players in blocked shots (49).
THE OTHER GUYS
The Blues sit at fourth place in the Central Division and are currently riding a two-game win streak. Most recently, six different Blues players scored in a 6-5 comeback road win over the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday.
Robert Thomas has seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points this season, leading St. Louis in all three categories. He had an eight-game point streak (5g-7a)from Nov. 1-16, including a four-point performance (4a) against the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 11. Pavel Buchnevich also has eight points (5g-3a) in his last seven games, including a hat trick in the same game against Colorado.
WATCH & LISTEN
Coverage for Friday’s game begins at 1:30 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. The game can also be streamed live on Fubo; click here for a 14-day free trial.
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 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.)
