Game Day: Preds at Penguins Preview

After falling to the Panthers yesterday evening, the Nashville Predators are right back at it this afternoon in Pittsburgh for a date with the Penguins at 3 p.m. CT from PPG Paints Arena. Today's contest is the second and final meeting between the two this season; the Preds defeated the Pens in Nashville last month.
The Predators began the week with wins over Minnesota and Ottawa, but after a 4-1 loss at the hands of Florida on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena, Nashville will be eager to correct a few things with another chance to collect some crucial points to finish off a back-to-back weekend set.

"We had some looks, but I think overall… [Florida] played the game that they needed to play to win the game," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said following Saturday's loss. "Tonight, I expected more from our team in general. I thought the pace which we played with, the competitive level that we played with and our execution with the puck needed to be better. I thought we were just average, and we're not a team that can play average and win."
"This time of year, and tonight, a couple little mistakes cost you," Preds forward Ryan Johansen said Saturday night. "It was very tight out there, and we did do a lot of good things offensively, but we just needed that little bit more to get it done. We didn't tonight, and we'll try and get it done tomorrow."
Nashville's lineup remained unchanged on Saturday from Thursday's win at Ottawa. Predators centerman Michael McCarron is week-to-week with an upper-body injury, and Matt Benning, Ben Harpur and Jeremy Davies were scratched against the Panthers.

The Good Guys:

Johansen scored the lone goal for the Preds on Saturday, and Juuse Saros took the loss in net. Captain Roman Josi continues to lead his club 68 assists and 87 points, while forward Matt Duchene has 37 goals and 37 assists on the season. Filip Forsberg (38g-33a) has 71 points, Johansen (22g-34a) has 56 points and Mikael Granlund has 43 assists and 52 points. Saros is now 35-22-3 on the season, while David Rittich is 5-3-1 on the season.

The Opposition:

The Penguins have lost each of their last four outings, including a 6-3 defeat to Washington in Pittsburgh yesterday afternoon. Sidney Crosby (26g-46a) leads the Pens with 72 points, followed by Jake Guentzel (33g-38a) with 71 points and Kris Letang with 54 assists and 61 points. Evgeni Malkin has 17 goals and 37 points in 36 games this season. Goaltender Tristan Jarry started yesterday against the Capitals; he's 33-18-6 on the season, while Casey DeSmith is 7-4-4.

All-Time Meetings:

The Predators are 14-13-(2)-3 all-time against the Penguins, including a 5-8-(2)-0 record on the road. Nashville is 1-0-0 against Pittsburgh in 2021-22, earning a 4-1 win at home on March 15.
The Predators are 2-2-1 in their last five games vs. the Penguins; they are 4-5-1 in their last 10; and 1-4-0 in their last five on the road. This will be Nashville's first game in Pittsburgh since Dec. 28, 2019.

Notables Versus Pittsburgh:

Filip Forsberg has nine points (9a) in his last 12 games against Pittsburgh. The Penguins are one of two teams (Ottawa) Forsberg has not scored a goal against in his career. Matt Duchene has 13 points (8g-5a) in 21 career games against Pittsburgh. Mikael Granlund owns eight points (5g-3a) in 14 career meetings with the Penguins.
Head Coach John Hynes served as head coach of Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, for five seasons from 2010-15.

Watch & Listen:

This afternoon's game in Pittsburgh is set for a 3 p.m. CT start and will be shown nationally on TNT. Pete Weber and Hal Gill will broadcast on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network. Pregame coverage on the radio begins at 8 p.m. with Darren McFarland.