The Nashville Predators (4-6-0) continue their five-game road trip with a matinee against the Edmonton Oilers (2-6-1) on Saturday at Rogers Place.
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 Thursday’s game at Seattle:
Forsberg - O’Reilly - Nyquist
Sherwood - Novak - Evangelista
Trenin - Sissons - Foudy
Smith - Pärssinen - Fagemo
Josi - Fabbro
McDonagh - Carrier
Lauzon - Barrie
Saros
Lankinen
Scratches: Tomasino, McCarron, Del Gaizo
IR: Schenn, Glass
LAST TIME OUT
Nashville moved to 1-4-0 on the road in 2023-24 with a 4-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday. The Predators are now 1-1-0 against the Kraken this season.
Nashville outshot Seattle, 34-31, and scored multiple power-play goals for the fourth time this season. Colton Sissons picked up his first assist of 2023-24 on Tommy Novak’s first-period goal, and Roman Josi scored his first power-play goal of the season.
ALL-TIME MEETINGS
The Predators are 45-32-(3)-4 all-time against the Oilers, including a 22-15-(0)-4 record on the road. This is the second of three matchups between Nashville and Edmonton in 2023-24 and the first of two at Rogers Place.
The Predators lost the first meeting with Edmonton this season, 6-1, on Oct. 17 at Bridgestone Arena; Novak scored Nashville’s lone goal in the loss. Nashville went 1-2-0 in three games against Edmonton last season, recording a 4-3 OT win (Alexandre Carrier) at Bridgestone Arena on Dec. 19, 2022. The win snapped an eight-game losing streak (0-7-1) vs. the Oilers.
NOTABLES VS. EDMONTON
- The Predators acquired Tyson Barrie, Reid Schaefer, a first-round pick (Tanner Molendyk) in the 2023 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft from Edmonton for Mattias Ekholm and a sixth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft on Feb. 28, 2023. Barrie spent parts of three seasons with the Oilers from 2020-23, recording 132 points (25g-107a) in 190 games.
- Juuse Saros set the Preds franchise record for most saves in a shutout when he posted 46 vs. Edmonton on Dec. 14, 2017. In 10 career games vs. the Oilers, Saros is 3-5-1 with a .916 save percentage and two shutouts.
- Filip Forsberg has averaged nearly a point per game in his career vs. the Oilers, tallying 21 points (11g-10a) in 23 games. He became the second player in NHL history to score a “lacrosse-style” goal in Nashville’s game against Edmonton on Jan. 14, 2020.
- Josi has 15 assists and 19 points in 30 career meetings with the Oilers.
- Ekholm was selected by the Predators in the fourth round (102nd overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft and played the first 719 games of his career with Nashville, recording 268 points (62g-206a).
THE GOOD GUYS
FILthy Forsberg: Forsberg leads Nashville in points with nine (1g-8a), and his eight assists are also a team high. He has six points (1g-5a) in his last six outings.
Tommy Hockey: Novak’s power-play goal on Thursday against Seattle tied him Sissons for the team lead in goals with five. Novak recorded a three-game point streak from Oct. 21-28 (2g-2a), and his seven points (5g-2a) are tied with Ryan O’Reilly for the second-most among Preds skaters. Novak has recorded five points (3g-2a) in his last five games.
Sizzlin’ Hot: Sissons shares the Predators lead in goals with five, nearly halfway to his total of 12 goals in 82 games last season. Sissons has scored twice and has three points (2g-1a) in his last four games.
Out for Vange-ance: Luke Evangelista now has six points (1g-5a) in his last six games, including two multi-point efforts – on Oct. 21 vs. San Jose (1g-1a) and Oct. 28 vs. Toronto (2a).
Captain Clutch: Josi has points in five of his last season games (1g-5a). He scored his first goal of the season, the overtime winner, on Saturday vs. Toronto.
Factor 1,000: O’Reilly played in his 1,000th career NHL game on Tuesday at Vancouver, becoming the fifth player to play his 1,000th career NHL game in a Predators uniform. He has five points (3g-2a) and three power-play goals in his last seven games.
On the Attack: Through nine games, the Predators are third in the NHL in expected goal percentage (5-on-5) at 57.3 percent per MoneyPuck.com. Nashville is also 10th in expected goals for per 60 minutes (2.72) and tied for 10th in high-danger shots for (22).
Power Play: The Predators are tied for sixth in the NHL in power-play goals with 10; they are 11th in power-play percentage at 23.3 percent. Nashville has scored multiple power-play goals in the same game four times this season, all coming within the last six contests. The Preds are operating at 30.8 percent on the power play in its last six games, going 8-for-26 in that span. Forsberg leads the team with five power-play points (1g-4a), while Novak leads in power-play goals (4).
THE OTHER GUYS
The Oilers have won just two games this season – Oct. 17 at Nashville (6-1) and Oct. 29 vs. Calgary in the 2023 Tim Hortons Heritage Classic outdoor game (5-2). They are still winless at Rogers Place.
The Oilers have allowed 36 goals against this season, the fifth-most in the NHL. Leon Draisaitl leads Edmonton in goals (4), assists (9) and total points (13). Evan Bouchard ranks among the Top 10 NHL defensemen with nine points (3g-6a).
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.
Max Herz and Hal Gill will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network, with pregame, postgame and intermission coverage by Chase McCabe and Pete Weber 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.)
