Game Day: Stars vs. Preds Preview

Not long after the passing of one of the biggest weeks in franchise history, arguably the most important week of the season for the Nashville Predators has arrived, and the span begins tonight with a contest against the Dallas Stars at Bridgestone Arena.
This evening's meeting between the Central Division foes is the fourth and final tilt between the Preds and Stars this season; Nashville has two wins against Dallas thus far, including a 2-1 shootout triumph on Pekka Rinne's retirement night.
The Preds are back from a two-game trip out west, and after a disappointing loss in Seattle last Wednesday, Nashville responded with an 8-0 rout over the Sharks in San Jose on Saturday night, just the second 8-0 victory in Predators franchise history.

Now, the Preds are set on continuing that momentum during a three-game homestand against Dallas, Anaheim and St. Louis - but the Stars are up first, a team that sits just one point ahead of Nashville in the Wild Card standings. Extra motivation isn't necessary for a night like this, and a Tuesday night in March doesn't often carry this much weight.
"[Games like this] are the easiest ones to play, because there's no secret to what it means," Preds forward Matt Duchene said following Monday's practice in Nashville. "It's an exciting week for us… We want to climb the ladder here and make sure that we clinch [a playoff spot] and we put ourselves in a good spot before the last few games of the season, and that's always stressful. So, tomorrow's a big game. It's just a huge game all around, and it always seems like we play these guys in the biggest games of the year. They've done a great job getting to this point, because they were down the standings a bit there, and we'll be ready for tomorrow."
"I love it," Preds forward Colton Sissons said of playing in a big game. "We all love that competition. It's so tight in our division in the Wild Card, and we've got to be ready to rock every single night. And what better way to get it started than this week, playing the Dallas Stars who have been riding a bit of a hot streak and playing some good hockey. So, hopefully we can take care of business again at home."
Defenseman Alexandre Carrier returned to the lineup on Saturday after missing two games due to injury, but blueliner Mark Borowiecki was absent once more on Saturday and is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Forward Nick Cousins (IR) practiced on Monday in Nashville, and Preds General Manager David Poile had previously said he was hopeful Cousins could return to the lineup sometime this week.

The Good Guys:

Duchene, Michael McCarron and Matt Luff all tallied twice during Saturday's 8-0 win in San Jose. The line of McCarron (2g-2a), Luff (2g-1a) and Philip Tomasino (3a) combined for 10 points, and all three players recorded career-highs for points in a single game. The Predators had five players record a plus-minus rating of at least +4 for the first time in franchise history, and Captain Roman Josi's +6 rating was a franchise record. Josi also added four assists on the night for his second-career outing with at least four helpers.
Josi leads the club with 45 assists and 59 points, followed by Duchene with 50 points (27g-23a) and Filip Forsberg with 46 points (27g-19a). Mikael Granlund has 42 points(9g-33a), Ryan Johansen has 39 points (13g-26a) and rookie Tanner Jeannot has 32 points (18g-14a). Goaltender Juuse Saros recorded his third shutout of the season with Saturday's win and moved to 26-17-3; netminder David Rittich is 4-2-1.

The Opposition:

The Stars have won their last four outings, including a 6-3 victory over Minnesota on Sunday. Jason Robertson was named the NHL's First Star of the Week on Monday thanks to back-to-back hat tricks to lead Dallas over the Jets and Wild.
Joe Pavelski leads the Stars with 37 assists and 59 points, followed by Robertson with 29 goals and 54 points. Roope Hintz has 47 points (23g-24a) on the season, and then Tyler Seguin (17g-14a) and Jamie Benn (14g-17a) are tied with 31 points. Goaltender Jake Oettinger is 19-6-1 in net; Braden Holtby is 10-10-1.

All-Time Meetings:

The Predators are 47-46-(1)-5 all-time against the Stars, including a 30-17-(1)-2 record at Bridgestone Arena. Nashville is 4-1-0 in their last five games vs. the Stars; they are 7-3-0 in their last 10; and 4-1-0 in their last five at home.
The Preds have earned at least a point in 18 of their last 26 games vs. Dallas (17-8-1). Nashville has scored at least four goals (including the shootout winner) in 11 of its last 19 victories over Dallas.
The Predators went 5-3-0 vs. the Stars in 2020-21, with all five victories coming in either overtime or a shootout. Nashville closed out its eight-game regular-season series vs. Dallas by winning five of the last six meetings.

Notables Versus Dallas:

Juuse Saros is 11-4-1 in his career vs. Dallas, posting three shutouts, a 2.25 goals-against average and .924 save percentage in 16 career games against the Stars. Eeli Tolvanen has recorded eight points (4g-4a) in eight career games against Dallas, including his first career three-point game (1g-2a) on March 21, 2021.
Mikael Granlund has 28 points (9g-19a) in 39 career contests vs. Dallas; he recorded an individual 12-game point streak (3g-14a) against the Stars from Oct. 29, 2016-Feb. 1, 2019. Roman Josi owns 32 career points (11g-21a) vs. the Stars, his second-most against a single opponent in his NHL career.

Watch & Listen:

Coverage for tonight's 7 p.m. CT puck drop from Nashville begins at 6:30 p.m. CT with the Predators Live! pregame show on Bally Sports South hosted by Lyndsay Rowley and Terry Crisp. Willy Daunic, Chris Mason, Hal Gill and Kara Hammer have the call on the television side, while Pete Weber and Brooks Bratten will broadcast on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network. Pregame coverage on the radio begins at 6 p.m. with Darren McFarland. Tonight's game will also be broadcasted on El Jefe presented by Don Beto powered by ETHNIX GROUP and will be carried on 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM.