The midpoint of a three-game trip arrives tonight for the Nashville Predators as they prepare to face the New Jersey Devils for a 6 p.m. CT puck drop at Prudential Center. This evening’s contest is the first of two meetings between the clubs this season; the Preds will host the Devils in March.
The trip started Tuesday night in Boston where the Predators battled back to earn a point before falling to the Bruins, 3-2, in overtime. Now, the visitors will shift their focus to New Jersey and a Devils team that has lost three of their last four at home.
“We want to win the week,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said following Tuesday’s loss. “It would have been nice to get two [points], we got one. Anytime you get one on the road, when you're down late, you take it and you move on knowing we could be a little bit better through 60 here going into Jersey.”
Prior to Tuesday’s game, Nashville recalled Andreas Englund from Milwaukee, and the blueliner made his season debut as the Predators elected to go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Tyson Jost and Ozzy Wiesblatt were healthy scratches against the Bruins.
The Good Guys:
Roman Josi and Nick Blankenburg tallied for the Preds in Boston, while Juuse Saros took the overtime loss in net. Ryan O’Reilly, who assisted on Josi’s goal, leads the club with 51 points (18g-33a), followed by Filip Forsberg (19g-21a) with 40 points. Steven Stamkos has 25 goals and 38 points on the season; Luke Evangelista has 31 assists and 38 points as well. Saros is now 20-17-4; Justus Annunen is 4-6-1.
The Opposition:
After a three-game win streak in Western Canada, the Devils have lost their last two, including a 4-3 result on Tuesday against Winnipeg. Also on Tuesday, New Jersey acquired forward Maxim Tsyplakov via trade from the New York Islanders in exchange for forward Ondrej Palat and a pair of draft picks.
Nico Hischier (17g-23a) leads the team with 40 points, followed by Jesper Bratt (12g-27a) with 39 points and Jack Hughes who has 36 points in 35 games. Jacob Markstrom is 14-12-1 in net; Jake Allen is 12-12-1.
All-Time Meetings:
The Preds are 21-12-(0)-6 all-time against the Devils, including a 13-5-(0)-1 mark in New Jersey. Nashville is 7-3-0 in the last 10 versus New Jersey and 4-1-0 in their last five at Prudential Center.
Notables Versus New Jersey:
Nashville posted a 14-game point streak against New Jersey from Oct. 13, 2015-Jan. 26, 2023, going 11-0-3.
Erik Haula played 225 games for New Jersey from 2022-25, recording 97 points (41g-56a).
David Poile and Barry Trotz named current Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald as the first captain of the Predators prior to the 1998-99 season. In one of the most memorable moments of the 2023 NHL Draft – hosted at Bridgestone Arena – Poile completed the final trade of his illustrious career as a general manager, acquiring a seventh-round pick (Aiden Fink) from the Devils.
Milestone Watch:
Roman Josi is one goal from 200 in his NHL career.
Brady Skjei is four points from 300 in his NHL career.
Michael Bunting is four games from 400 in his NHL career.
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for this evening’s contest begins at 5:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on FanDuel Sports Network South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic and Chris Mason will have the call on the television side. Max Herz and Hal Gill will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network.
