A three-game trip concludes tonight for the Nashville Predators when they face the New York Islanders for a 6 p.m. CT puck drop at UBS Arena. This evening’s contest is the second and final meeting between the two clubs this season; the Preds defeated the Isles in a shootout earlier this month.
The Predators have earned two points through two games on the trip thus far, but both outings have resulted in 3-2 overtime losses in Boston and New Jersey. Now, with their “win the week” mantra still in play, the Preds would love to get back in the win column before heading home.
“Well, we're .500 right now in two games on the road,” Preds center Michael McCarron said following the loss in New Jersey. “If we can get a win [on] Long Island, I think it'd be a successful week. Four out of six points on the road is always good. So, we have one more game on this road trip. Have to stay detailed and come ready to play in a couple days.”
“There’s still an opportunity to win the week here,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said Thursday night. “We're collecting points, which is big. We could have used two. I thought we probably deserved two, maybe even both nights, and we didn't get them. So, we’ve got to go back to work and finish this week off with collecting more than just one.”
Prior to Thursday’s game, the Preds assigned forward Fedor Svechkov to Milwaukee of the AHL. Brunette had this to say via the radio pregame show on Svechkov’s assignment:
“I think it’s just a good opportunity for him to get some games in before the Olympic break. Play some big minutes, get some confidence back in his game, have the puck a lot more, feel better about it; he’s been inconsistent for us this year. He’s had some good flashes of play, and then he’s just had trouble sustaining it. So, I think it's a great opportunity. He’s a young player, go play big minutes, get on the power play, touch the puck, feel good and we’ll see him again here this year.”
The Predators went back to 12 forwards and six defensemen on Thursday with blueliner Andreas Englund serving as the lone healthy scratch.
The Good Guys:
McCarron and Filip Forsberg both tallied on Thursday in New Jersey, while Justus Annunen took the OT loss in net. Ryan O’Reilly (18g-33a) continues to lead the Preds with 51 points, followed by Forsberg - who hit the 20-goal mark for the 10th time - with 41 points. Steven Stamkos has 25 goals and 38 points; Luke Evangelista has 31 assists and 38 points. Juuse Saros is 20-17-4 in net; Annunen is 4-6-2.
The Opposition:
The Islanders have won three straight, including a pair of back-to-back victories over the Rangers on Wednesday and Thursday. Mathew Barzal (13g-31a) leads the Isles with 44 points, followed by 2025 first-overall pick Matthew Schaefer with 14 goals and 36 points from the backend. Ilya Sorokin is 18-12-2 in net; former Preds goaltender David Rittich is 12-7-3.
All-Time Meetings:
The Preds are 25-10-(0)-3 all-time against the Islanders, including a 10-6-(0)-2 record on the road. Nashville is 8-2-0 in the last 10 meetings versus New York and 3-2-0 in the last five on Long Island.
Notables Versus New York:
In a run that began on Feb. 5, 2018, Nashville won 10 games in a row against New York, a streak that was snapped on April, 6 2024. It was tied for the franchise’s then-longest active win streak vs. a single opponent (San Jose).
Nashville’s only 3-on-5 goal in franchise history came against the Islanders on Oct. 15, 2002 (Karlis Skrastins).
Predators General Manager Barry Trotz served as the Head Coach for the New York Islanders from 2018-22. He led New York to back-to-back Eastern Conference Final appearances in 2019 and 2020. Trotz won the Jack Adams Award with the Islanders in 2019, given to the NHL’s top head coach.
Islanders goaltender David Rittich went 6-3-4 with a 3.57 goals-against average and .886 save percentage in 17 appearances with the Predators in 2021-22.
Milestone Watch:
Filip Forsberg (338) passed Henrik Zetterberg (337) for the sixth-most goals by a Swedish-born player in NHL history on Jan. 29 at New Jersey.
Roman Josi is one goal from 200 in his NHL career.
Michael Bunting is three 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.
