The Nashville Predators (9-10-0) look to extend their win streak to five games as they host their Central Division rival, the Winnipeg Jets (12-5-2), on Sunday at Bridgestone Arena.
Puck drop is at 7 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 Friday’s game at St. Louis:
Forsberg - O’Reilly - Nyquist
Sherwood - Pärssinen - Evangelista
Trenin - Sissons - Foudy
Smith - McCarron - Tomasino
McDonagh - Josi
Lauzon - Carrier
Stastney - Barrie
Lankinen
Saros
Scratch: Fabbro
IR: Schenn, Novak, Glass
LAST TIME OUT
Notes: Nashville improved to 3-6-0 on the road in 2023-24 with Friday’s 8-3 win over the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center. The Predators scored a season-high eight goals and held a 7-2 lead through the second period; it was the third time in franchise history the Predators have scored at least seven goals through the first two periods of a game, last doing so on Jan. 5, 2007 at Chicago (8).
Fourteen of Nashville’s 18 skaters recorded a point, led by three each from Luke Evangelista (2g-1a), Filip Forsberg (2g-1a) and Kiefer Sherwood (1g-2a); it was Sherwood’s first career three-point game. Spencer Stastney scored his first career NHL goal, and Kevin Lankinen made a season-high 36 saves for his third straight win.
ALL-TIME MEETINGS
The Predators are 28-20-(1)-6 all-time against the Jets franchise, including a 17-9-(0)-1 record at Bridgestone Arena. This is the second of four matchups between Nashville and Winnipeg in 2023-24 and the first of two at home.
Nashville is 0-1-0 against Winnipeg in 2023-24, dropping a 6-3 decision at Canada Life Centre on Nov. 9. Forsberg scored twice for the Predators in the loss.
Nashville went 1-1-2 against Winnipeg last season, with two of the four meetings requiring overtime. The Predators picked up two points in a 2-1 victory at Bridgestone Arena on Jan. 24, 2023 behind 32 saves from Juuse Saros.
NOTABLES VS. WINNIPEG
- Roman Josi tied the Predators franchise record for assists and points in a game with five on Feb. 27, 2018 at Winnipeg. He has 25 points (4g-21a) in 35 career games vs. the Jets.
- Forsberg recorded a five-game point streak (5a) vs. Winnipeg from March 13, 2018-March 1, 2019. He has picked up at least one point in 12 of his last 21 contests against the Jets and has posted 22 points (6g-16a) in 34 career games vs. Winnipeg.
- Saros is 4-6-3 with a 2.54 goals-against average, .926 save percentage and one shutout in 13 career meetings with Winnipeg.
- Colton Sissons made his NHL debut on Jan. 28, 2014 at Winnipeg.
- General Manager Barry Trotz is from Dauphin, Man.
- The Predators acquired a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft from Winnipeg for forward Nino Niederreiter on Feb. 25, 2023. Niederreiter tallied 28 points (18g-10a) in 56 games for Nashville to begin the 2022-23 season.
THE GOOD GUYS
Scoresberg: Forsberg leads Nashville in points with 24 (11g-13a) after recording three points on Friday at St. Louis (2g-1a). He has posted at least one point in six of his last seven games and 10 of his last 12. He has scored multiple goals in four of his last seven games, including five goals in a three-game span from Nov. 9-14. Forsberg is tied for 13th in the NHL in goals with 11, and he is eight goals from tying his output of 19 from the 2022-23 campaign. He leads the NHL in goals (10) and is tied for seventh in points (16) in the month of November; his nine goals since Nov. 9 are the most among League skaters. Forsberg is also tied for third in the NHL in multi-goal games (4); fourth in shot attempts (163); and fifth in SOG (82).
Red-Hot Rookie: Evangelista is tied for second among NHL rookies in points with 12 (3g-9a). He recorded his third career three-point game on Friday at St. Louis (2g-1a), becoming the fourth Predators player with as many before turning 22, joining Forsberg (8), Scott Hartnell (3) and Alexander Radulov (3).
The Captain: Josi has points in 10 of his last 16 games (3g-9a), including a four-game point streak from Oct. 28-Nov. 4 (2g-3a). He scored his first goal of the season, the OT winner, on Oct. 28 vs. Toronto, and added his first power-play goal of the campaign on Nov. 2 at Seattle. Per NHL EDGE, Josi has skated the longest total distance among NHL defensemen on the power play this season (13.31 miles).
The O’Reilly Factor: Ryan O’Reilly recorded his fifth career NHL hat trick on Nov. 4 at Edmonton in a four-point effort (3g-1a). He now has 14 points (8g-6a) in his last 12 games after scoring on Friday at St. Louis, which also extended his point streak to six games (3g-4a). His 10 goals from the high-danger zone are tied for the most in the NHL per NHL EDGE.
The Gus Bus: Gustav Nyquist extended his point streak to seven games (1g-8a) with an assist on Friday at St. Louis; it’s tied for the second-longest of his NHL career (longest: 10 in 2013-14).
Sizzlin’ Hot: Sissons is tied for third on the Predators in goals with six and is halfway to his total of 12 goals in 82 games last season. He has scored multiple shorthanded goals in a season for the first time in his NHL career, and he is one of 12 players to score at least two shorthanded goals in 2023-24.
The Juice Man: Saros is tied for fourth in games played (15) and starts (15) among NHL goaltenders. He became the seventh Finnish-born goaltender in NHL history to appear in 300 career games on Monday vs. Colorado.
Power Play: The Predators are tied for eighth in the NHL in power-play goals with 16. Nashville has scored multiple power-play goals in the same game four times this season; the Predators did so nine times in 2022-23. The Predators have also scored a power-play goal in five of their last six games. O’Reilly has scored a team-high six goals on the man advantage.
Heavy Hitters: Nashville is second in the NHL in hits per 60 minutes (19.7); seventh in hits (374) and 15th in blocked shots per 60 minutes (15.9). Alexandre Carrier is tied for eighth among NHL players in blocked shots (49). Yakov Trenin is tied for 14th in the NHL in hits (48), and Cole Smith is tied for 19th (45).
THE OTHER GUYS
The Jets sit at second place in the Central Division and are currently riding a five-game win streak. Most recently, goaltender Connor Hellebuyck earned his first shutout of the season in Winnipeg’s 3-0 defeat of the Florida Panthers on Friday.
Kyle Connor – who recorded a hat trick in the Jets’ 6-3 win over the Jets on Nov. 9 – has scored a team-high 14 goals for Winnipeg, tied for the second-most among all NHL skaters. Connor (14g-8a) and Mark Scheifele (7g-15a) lead the Jets with 22 points each, and Scheifele’s 15 assists are also a team high.
WATCH & LISTEN
Coverage for Sunday’s game begins at 6:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on Bally Sports South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley alongside analyst Hal Gill. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic, analyst Chris Mason and rinkside reporter Kara Hammer will have the call on the television side. The game can also be streamed live on Fubo; click here for a 14-day free trial.
Pete Weber and Jay More will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network, with pregame, postgame and intermission coverage by Max Herz 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.)
