Game Day: Sharks vs. Preds Preview

The Nashville Predators have returned home to Bridgestone Arena, and they'll be in search of consecutive wins for the first time this season when they host the San Jose Sharks tonight at 7:30 p.m. CT. This evening marks the first of three meetings between the two clubs on the campaign and the first time the Preds and Sharks have faced off since December of 2019.
Nashville's first road trip of the season took place over the weekend, and after falling in Winnipeg by a 6-4 final on Saturday night, the Predators bounced back with a 5-2 victory in Minnesota on Sunday with their most complete effort of the season.

The Predators used a season-high five goals, combined with Connor Ingram's first-career win in net, to prevail against the Wild. Now, they'll look to replicate those efforts against a San Jose team that has lost just once in their first five games of 2021-22.
"We've talked to the group that you're going to go through an 82-game season, and there's times where you're playing pretty well and you have substance in your game, but maybe you're not finding ways to win or goals aren't going in," Predators Head Coach John Hynes said following Sunday's win. "If you stay with it, which our guys did, you're eventually going to get rewarded. There was real, true, honest belief and assessment in our game within our locker room on what we need to do, and I think tonight we put together that type of an effort… Guys have been resilient and stayed with it, but I also think that's just the honest, true assessment in our locker room of where our game was at. That's why it's nice to see the guys get rewarded for it."
The Predators did not practice on Monday following their back-to-back set, but an update on Preds forward Eeli Tolvanen is expected at some point today. Tolvanen left Sunday's game in the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return.
Update: Tolvanen participated fully in today's morning skate, and Hynes confirmed the winger will play tonight against San Jose.

The Good Guys:

Ryan Johansen scored twice, Roman Josi (1g-3a) had four points and Ingram stopped 33 shots in Sunday's win over Minnesota. Filip Forsberg and Tanner Jeannot also tallied on the evening to lead the Preds to their second victory of the season.
After his four-point outburst, Josi now leads the Preds in scoring with seven points (3g-4a), followed by Johansen (3g-2a), Forsberg (2g-3a) and Mikael Granlund (1g-4a) with five points each. Matt Duchene (1g-3a) has four points on the season, while Jeannot and Philip Tomasino have each scored twice for Nashville. Juuse Saros is 1-4-0 in net for Nashville; Ingram won his only appearance this far.

The Opposition:

San Jose started the season by winning their first four games before falling to Boston on Sunday afternoon by a 4-3 final. Logan Couture and Timo Meier each have three goals and five assists to co-lead the Sharks in scoring through five games. Erik Karlsson (2g-4a) has six points, and Jonathan Dahlen (3g-1a) has four points. James Reimer, who is expected to start tonight for San Jose, won his only start of the season and has a .980 save percentage through two appearances.

All-Time Meetings:

The Predators are 37-29-(2)-8 all-time against the Sharks, including a 23-12-(1)-2 record at Bridgestone Arena. Nashville and San Jose last met on Dec. 10, 2019 at Bridgestone Arena, a 3-1 victory for the home side. Ryan Johansen netted the game-winning goal in that contest.
Overall, Nashville has won seven of its last 11 games (7-3-1) against San Jose. On home ice, the Predators are 11-1-1 in their last 13 games vs. the Sharks, including a 10-game point streak (9-0-1) from Feb. 25, 2012-March 29, 2018.

Notables Versus San Jose:

Filip Forsberg is averaging a point per game vs. San Jose, posting 18 points (7g-11a) in 18 contests. Ryan Johansen has produced at nearly a point-per-game pace against the Sharks in his career, tallying 25 points (10g-15a) in 26 games. He has 11 points (2g-9a) in his last 10 meetings with the Sharks.
Roman Josi has 17 points (6g-11a) in 25 career games against the Sharks. He recorded a six-game point streak (1g-7a) vs. San Jose from April 2, 2016-Feb. 22, 2018. Matt Duchene has six points (3g-3a) in his last six games against San Jose. He made his NHL debut on Oct. 1, 2009 vs. San Jose.

When You Go:

The plaza perimeter opens at 4:30 p.m. CT this afternoon, and Arena doors open at 5:30 p.m. ahead of a 7:30 p.m. puck drop.
The Predators Foundation is hosting a Pet Supply Drive in honor of Smash's birthday tonight! Drop off the items listed in the Tweet below at any arena entrance before the game. Fans can also donate items through our Amazon Wish List.

All guests aged 12 and older attending tonight's game will be required to show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 PCR or antigen test administered by a healthcare professional within 72 hours prior to the event that includes their name and the date of the test.
Fans attending the game are encouraged to use the CLEAR Health Pass
to provide easy proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test and offer safer and faster fan entry into events held at the venue.
The CLEAR Health Pass - Bridgestone Arena's preferred vaccine verification method - is a free mobile app that securely houses COVID-19 vaccination and test information. Predators fans and all Bridgestone Arena attendees ages 18 and older are encouraged to utilize the CLEAR Health Pass app to make entry into the venue as smooth as possible. All Bridgestone Arena entrances, including the two main ones at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway and Demonbreun Street, will accept the CLEAR Health Pass for venue access.
Anyone unable to use the CLEAR Health Pass
must follow all Bridgestone Arena entry protocols
.

Watch & Listen:

This evening's game will be
shown exclusively on ESPN+ & Hulu streaming services
with a 7:30 p.m. CT puck drop.
For more information on ESPN+ and Hulu, click here
. On the radio side, Pete Weber and Hal Gill will broadcast on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network. Pregame coverage on the radio begins at 6:30 p.m. with Darren McFarland. For broadcast information and channel locations throughout the region,
click here
.