The Nashville Predators will conclude a five-game trip tonight in Winnipeg when they face the Jets for a 7 p.m. CT puck drop from Canada Life Centre. This evening’s contest is the third and final meeting between the division rivals this season; the Preds have dropped a pair of decisions to the Jets thus far.
After a win in Seattle a week ago, the Predators fell to Vancouver in a shootout before a 3-1 loss in Edmonton on Sunday night. Now, with the Jets just one point behind them in the postseason race, Nashville will look to get back into the win column once more before heading home.
“We’ve got to play the way we play towards the middle of the game, or the end of most games, and we’ve got to come out like that and play with confidence,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said following Sunday’s loss. “We’re in a playoff race. We’ve got to go after it, and we’ve got to win some games consistently. We’ve got to go out and try to win the game and not just hope to win the game. Obviously the Jets are right behind us, so it's another big game.”
“I think every game's a must win for us, and they'll probably be like that for the rest of the season,” Preds winger Ozzy Wiesblatt said following Monday’s skate in Winnipeg. “We’ve just got to have that mentality that we can't take any game lightly, or take any periods off, or shifts off. Every game is so important, and if there's any group that's going to do it, I think it's here. Everybody believes in each other so much, and we’ve got each other's back. So, we’ve just got to keep going.”
Winger Joakim Kemell was Nashville’s lone healthy scratch on Sunday night. Defenseman Adam Wilsby remains week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
The Good Guys:
Fedor Svechkov scored the lone Nashville goal on Sunday night, while Justus Annunen took the loss in net.
Ryan O’Reilly has 22 goals and leads the Preds with 61 points on the season, followed by Filip Forsberg (28g-25a) with 53 points and Steven Stamkos with 31 goals and 51 points. Luke Evangelista has 38 assists and 47 points; Roman Josi has 11 goals and 44 points. Annunen is now 6-9-2 in net; Juuse Saros is 23-19-7 this season.
The Opposition:
Tonight marks the final outing of an eight-game homestand for the Jets that has seen them go 5-2-0 thus far, including a 3-2 win over the Blues on Sunday. Mark Scheifele leads Winnipeg with 31 goals and 82 points, followed by Kyle Connor with 31 goals and 75 points. Connor Hellebuyck is 17-18-9 in net this season; Eric Comrie is 11-9-1.
All-Time Meetings:
The Preds are 32-24-(1)-7 all-time against the Jets, including a 12-14-(1)-5 mark on the road. Nashville is 4-5-1 in the last 10 meetings versus Winnipeg but 1-4-0 in the last five in Manitoba.
Milestone Watch:
Brady Skjei is one point from 300 in his NHL career.
Nic Hague is three points from 100 in his NHL career.
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for this evening’s contest begins at 6:30 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.
