The Nashville Predators conclude their three-game road trip through the Western United States on Saturday with a Central Division battle against the Arizona Coyotes at Mullett Arena.
While Arizona enters Saturday’s contest with two games in hand and only six fewer points than Nashville, the Predators are simply focused on icing another winning performance and collecting another two points during a pivotal time of year.
“We’ve just got to move forward,” Predators Head Coach Andrew Brunette said following team practice on Friday. “We need these two points. We all know where we're at and we all know the swings of a regular season and travel, etc. And there’s going to be a lot of hard games coming up, so we look at it as we need to get those two points. We have to be the more desperate team.”
Puck drop is at 2 p.m. CT with the game set to broadcast on Bally Sports South, 102.5 The Game and El Jefe Radio. Here’s everything you need to know:
LAST TIME OUT
Ryan O’Reilly and Gustav Nyquist each scored as the Predators defeated the Los Angeles Kings, 2-1, at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.
The contest was a good test of character for the Predators, who held onto a one-goal lead for over 26 minutes and a desperate home team for the 20th win in their last 30 games.
“It stems from the times that we didn't do that and the growth and the learning that we let some games slip away,” Brunette said on Friday. “A lot of times, for you to grow as a person or as a hockey team, it’s going through that little bit of a tough time, understanding and seeing where we can do better and build on it. Yesterday was a nice little building block. We showed some maturity and some growth in our group in the third period. We've got a big game coming up tomorrow, and again, it's going to be tested.”
“It [comes with] experience and just being in that position a couple times,” Predators Captain Roman Josi said. “It was good last night. They had some looks, which is expected, but we didn't give them too much. And I think it's something we kind of have to learn. We lost some tight games earlier in the year, and I feel like we're getting better at finding a way to win those.”
O’Reilly’s power-play marker was his 17th goal of the season, his 11th on the man-advantage; the forward is now third among NHL skaters in PPGs. With an assist on Nyquist’s game-winning goal, O’Reilly picked up his 23rd helper and his 11th multi-point game of the season, his second since Jan. 12 at Dallas (1g-2a).
Nyquist’s game-winner was his 12th goal of the season and the eighth in his last 13 outings.
Josi picked up his 30th assist of the season and extended his point streak to five games (7a) with a helper on O’Reilly’s PPG.
Colton Sissons picked up his 10th assist of the season and Luke Schenn his fifth.
Juuse Saros made 33 saves in the win and improved to 18-16-1 as Nashville moved to 25-19-1 on the campaign and 12-8-1 on the road.
THE GOOD GUYS
Filip Forsberg leads the Predators in points (48) and goals (22); he is tied for ninth in goals and 11th in points among League skaters.
Josi leads his club and is seventh among League blueliners in assists; the captain is additionally sixth in points (38) among NHL defenders.
After 35 games, Saros has posted a 2.96 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage; the netminder is tied for third among NHL goaltenders in wins (14) since Nov. 20. Kevin Lankinen is 6-3-0 after 13 games, with a 3.12 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage.
The Predators lead the NHL in hits (1,036) and hits per 60 minutes (22.89); defenseman Jeremy Lauzon leads the League in hits with 178.
Nashville is fourth in the Central Division with 51 points.
THE OTHER GUYS
After concluding a three-game road trip with three of a possible six points (1-1-1) - and going 4-5-1 in their last 10 - the Coyotes will return to Mullett Arena on Saturday looking for an improved effort and a big two points against their division rival.
Clayton Keller leads the Yotes in points (39) and assists (22) and shares the team lead in goals (17) with Lawson Crouse.
Likely to receive Saturday’s start, former Predators netminder Connor Ingram is 15-9-1 after 28 games, with a 2.51 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage. Ingram shares the League lead in shutouts with five and is tied for ninth in save percentage among qualified goaltenders (14 or more GP).
Arizona is fifth in the Central Division with 45 points and a 13-9-0 record at Mullett Arena.
ALL-TIME MEETINGS
The Predators are 42-33-(2)-6 all-time against the Coyotes, including a 16-20-(0)-5 record on the road.
This is the second of four matchups between Nashville and Arizona in 2023-24; it is the first of two at Mullett Arena. Nashville is 0-1-0 against Arizona this season, dropping a 7-5 decision at Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 11. Forsberg had three points (2g-1a) for the Predators in the loss.
The Predators are 2-3-0 in their last five games against the Coyotes; they are 5-5-0 in their last 10; and 2-3-0 in their last five on the road. Nashville went 2-2-0 against Arizona last season, with both teams each picking up one of their victories on the road. In Nashville’s most recent win vs. Arizona, Josi (2g-1a) and Tommy Novak (1g-2a) both had three points in a 6-2 result on Feb. 26, 2023 at Mullett Arena.
NOTABLES VS. ARIZONA
- Josi has 20 points (9g-11a) in his last 11 games vs. the Coyotes, including seven multi-point efforts. He posted a seven-game point streak against Arizona from Dec. 23, 2019-Feb. 26, 2023 (8g-7a).
- Forsberg has 14 points (7g-7a) in 17 career meetings with Arizona.
- Novak recorded his third career three-point game on Feb. 26, 2023 at Arizona (1g-2a).
- O’Reilly has 36 points (14g-22a) in 45 career games against the Coyotes.
- Coyotes goaltender Connor Ingram was claimed on waivers from Nashville on Oct. 10, 2022. 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.
- Coyotes forward Michael Carcone spent the 2020-21 season in the Predators organization. With Milwaukee, Nashville’s AHL affiliate, not taking part in the 2020-21 AHL season due to COVID-19, Carcone was loaned to the Tucson Roadrunners, where he had 25 points (15g-10a) in 35 appearances.
LINE ‘EM UP
Below are Nashville's line combinations from Thursday's game against Los Angeles:
Forsberg - O'Reilly - Nyquist
Trenin - Sissons - Tomasino
Smith - Novak - Evangelista
Pärssinen - Glass - Gurianov
Josi - Fabbro
McDonagh - Schenn
Lauzon - Carrier
Saros
Lankinen
Scratches: Barrie (upper body, day-to-day), McCarron, Sherwood
MILESTONE WATCH
- Josi (166) is one goal from passing Shea Weber (166) for the most by a defenseman and the third-most among all skaters in Predators history.
- Forsberg is two assists from 300 in his NHL career.
- Tyson Barrie is two games from 800 in his NHL career.
- Luke Schenn is four points from 200 in his NHL career.
WATCH & LISTEN
Coverage for Saturday’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.
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.)
