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The Nashville Predators are set to conclude their five-game homestand tonight with a 7 p.m. CT puck drop at Bridgestone Arena as they begin a home-and-home set with the San Jose Sharks. This evening’s contest marks the first of three meetings between the two clubs this season; the Preds will travel to San Jose twice in the weeks ahead.

After beginning the homestand with a loss to Washington, the Predators have won each of their last three outings, including a 6-2 victory over Minnesota on Saturday. Now, Nashville will look to continue their strong play in search of their first four-game win streak of the campaign.

“For us right now, where we're at, we’ve just got to stay a little bit present and take care of business the next game,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said following Saturday’s win. “I think we’ve played well enough to have better results than we've had through [this recent] stretch. [Over the past month or so], I thought we’ve played really good hockey. We didn't always get rewarded, but we've been stacking those games, and now we're seeing some at home, which is fun. Crowd was electric. It was fun to play in front of fun to be a part of. And can we grab that and keep running with it?”

Predators forward Mark Jankowski, who left Saturday’s game and did not return, missed practice Monday and is week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Winger Cole Smith, who remains on Injured Reserve, practiced again on Monday, and Brunette indicated he is close to returning to the lineup.

Last Time Out:

Filip Forsberg scored twice and added a pair of assists in a four-point effort against Minnesota in the 6-2 victory. Steven Stamkos, Fedor Svechkov, Colton Sissons and Brady Skjei also found the back of the net, and Juuse Saros got the win in net.

For his efforts over the past week, Forsberg was named the NHL’s Second Star of the Week on Monday. The winger recorded four goals and seven points across three games and has goals in five consecutive outings.

The Good Guys:

Forsberg continues to lead the Preds in scoring with 42 points (15g-27a), followed by Jonathan Marchessault (14g-20a) with 34 points and Roman Josi (8g-24a) with 32 points. Stamkos has 16 goals and 30 points; Ryan O’Reilly has 13 goals and 27 points. Saros is now 11-18-6 in net; Justus Annunen is 10-6-0 overall.

Blankenburg Previews Game Against San Jose

The Opposition:

The Sharks have lost six of their last seven contests, including a 6-3 loss yesterday afternoon in Boston. Former Preds forward Mikael Granlund leads San Jose in scoring with 38 points (12g-26a), followed by William Eklund (10g-24a) with 34 points and rookie Macklin Celebrini (13g-19a) with 32 points. Former Preds goaltender Yaroslav Askarov, who took the loss yesterday in Boston, is 3-4-2 in net; Alexandar Georgiev is 10-15-0.

All-Time Meetings:

The Predators are 46-29-(2)-8 all-time against the Sharks, including a 28-12-(1)-2 record at Bridgestone Arena.

The Predators are 5-0-0 in their last five games against the Sharks; they are 10-0-0 in their last 10; and 5-0-0 in their last five on the road.

Nashville owns a 13-game point streak (12-0-1) against San Jose that dates back to March 16, 2019, in which the team has not allowed more than two goals against in a single contest. The Predators have won each of their last 10 games vs. the Sharks.

On home ice, Nashville enters Tuesday’s contest on a seven-game winning streak against San Jose; the Predators are 16-1-1 in their last 17 games vs. the Sharks at Bridgestone Arena. The last time the Predators were defeated at home by the Sharks was on Oct. 21, 2018, by a score of 5-4.

The Predators earned back-to-back wins vs. the Sharks on Oct. 7-8, 2022, at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czechia, as part of the 2022 NHL Global Series.

The Predators defeated the Sharks, 8-0, on March 5, 2022, marking the largest margin of victory in a road game in franchise history.

Brunette Previews Game Against San Jose

Notables Versus San Jose:

Jonathan Marchessault has 30 points (13g-17a) in 35 career games against the Sharks. It is the most points he has tallied against a single franchise and second-most goals and assists.

Steven Stamkos has posted 31 points (15g-16a) in 23 career games against San Jose. His 1.35 points per-game are the fourth-most he has against one team. Stamkos has 15 points (7g-8a) in his last 10 games vs. the Sharks.

Roman Josi has 30 points (7g-23a) in 34 career games against the Sharks, including four points (4g) on March 5, 2022. Josi set, at the time, a franchise-high rating of +6 against the Sharks on March 5, 2022, at the SAP Center. He is currently on a five-game point streak (1g-6a) vs. the Sharks.

Filip Forsberg is averaging over a point per game in his career vs. San Jose, posting 28 points (11g-17a) in 26 contests. He posted a 13-game point (8g-12a-20pts) streak against the Sharks from Feb. 22, 2018-Oct. 21, 2023.

San Jose’s Mikael Granlund (2019-23) and Luke Kunin (2020-22) are former Predators players.

Sharks prospect Thomas Bordeleau is the son of Predators Skills Coach Sebastien Bordeleau.

Milestone Watch:

Filip Forsberg (81) passed Shea Weber (80) for the most power-play goals in franchise history on Jan. 18 vs. Minnesota.

Vinnie Hinostroza is two assists from 100 in his NHL career.

Ryan O’Reilly is two points from 800 and five goals from 300 in his NHL career.

Steven Stamkos (571) is three goals from passing Mike Bossy (573) for the 23rd-most goals in NHL history and four assists from 600 in his career.

Watch & Listen:

Coverage for tonight’s game begins at 6:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on FanDuel Sports Network South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley and Hal Gill. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic, analyst Chris Mason and rinkside reporter Kara Hammer will have the call on the television side.

Voice of the Predators 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 Chase McCabe 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.)