GAME DAY: Wild vs. Preds, January 18

The Nashville Predators will look to make it three wins in a row tonight as they host the Minnesota Wild for a 7 p.m. CT puck drop at Bridgestone Arena. This evening’s contest is the third and final meeting of the season between the two division rivals; the Preds dropped both outings in Minnesota earlier in the campaign.

After starting their five-game homestand with a loss to Washington, the Predators have won two straight, with victories over Vegas and Chicago, the latter of which came in a shootout on Thursday night. Now, the Preds will look to carry momentum from a strong finish on Thursday into tonight’s skirmish.

“I thought that was good, not just the result, but the way we played the third [period],” Preds forward Filip Forsberg said following Thursday’s win. “There’s been games where we’ve done the same thing and just couldn't get a goal, and that wears on you. But I think tonight was a good step in the right direction for our group. We didn't take our foot off the gas the whole third period. We just kept coming and kept coming. And it worked, you know? And that's something we can keep building on.”

Nashville’s lineup remained unchanged on Thursday with Kieffer Bellows as the lone Predators healthy scratch. The Preds did not practice on Friday.

Last Time Out:

Forsberg’s 300th career NHL goal tied the game late before Gustav Nyquist, Ryan O’Reilly and Steven Stamkos all converted in the shootout as the Preds topped the Blackhawks by a 3-2 final. Stamkos also scored in regulation, and goaltender Juuse Saros got the win, including a save on Connor Bedard in the shootout.

Forsberg became the ninth Swedish player to reach the milestone. Forsberg (742 GP), who will play for Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off, reached the mark in the third-fewest games of any Swedish skater behind Tomas Sandstrom (675 GP) and Mats Sundin (698 GP).

The Good Guys:

Forsberg continues to lead the Preds with 38 points (13g-25a), followed by Jonathan Marchessault (14g-19a) with 33 points and Roman Josi (8g-22a) with 30 points. Stamkos leads the club with 15 goals to go along with 29 points; O’Reilly has 13 tallies and 26 points. Saros is 10-18-6 on the season; Justus Annunen is 10-6-0.

The Opposition:

The Wild have dropped three of their last four games, including a 5-3 loss to Edmonton on Wednesday night. Kirill Kaprizov is Minnesota’s leading scorer with 50 points but last played on Dec. 23 due to injury. Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi have identical 17-goal, 39-point stat lines; Mats Zuccarello has 11 goals and 32 points on the season. Filip Gustavsson is 18-9-3 in net; Marc-Andre Fleury, who is appearing in his final NHL season, is 9-3-1.

All-Time Meetings:

The Predators are 46-29-(5)-11 all-time against the Wild, including a (28-10-2)-5 record at Bridgestone Arena.

The Predators are 2-1-2 in their last five games against the Wild; they are 4-4-3 in their last 10; and 3-1-1 in their last five at Bridgestone Arena.

The Predators have won 14 of their last 21 games vs. the Wild, a stretch that included a seven-game win streak from March 27, 2018-Oct. 24, 2019. Nashville allowed two-or-fewer goals in six of those seven wins.

Notables Versus Minnesota:

Brady Skjei has tallied seven points (3g-4a) in 16 career games against Minnesota. He recorded two assists in the second game between the two teams this season. The Lakeville, Minn., native, played at the University of Minnesota (2012-15), posting 27 points (8g-19a) in 109 games.

Juuse Saros is 8-3-2 in 13 career games against the Wild, with a .926 save percentage and a 2.32 goals-against average.

Ryan O’Reilly has accumulated 39 points (20g-19a) in 58 career games against the Wild. His 20 goals are the most he has scored against a single franchise. He has points (4g-2a) in his last five games against Minnesota.

O’Reilly’s goal in the second meeting between the two teams this season extended his point streak against the Wild to five games (4g-2a—6pts since Jan. 25, 2024), marking his longest active run against a single franchise (also 4 GP vs. CAR & STL).

Roman Josi has 41 points (16g-25a) in 46 career games against Minnesota. He has points in 13 of his last 15 games vs. the Wild (11g-10a), including a nine-game point streak from Oct. 3, 2019-Feb. 19, 2023 (8g-5a).

Filip Forsberg scored his first career NHL goal on Oct. 8, 2013, vs. Minnesota. He has 32 points (18g-14a) in 36 career games vs. Minnesota. Forsberg’s 18 goals against the Wild are the third-most he’s scored against a single opponent in his NHL career.

Tommy Novak (St. Paul, Minn.) played four years for the University of Minnesota from 2015-19, winning back-to-back regular-season Big Ten titles in 2016 and 2017.

Head Coach Andrew Brunette played six seasons for the Wild from 2001-04 and 2008-11, posting 321 points (119g-202a) in 489 games. He also previously served as an assistant coach (2014-16); special assistant to the GM (2016-17); assistant general manager (2017-18); and director of player personnel (2018-19) for Minnesota.

Assistant Coach Todd Richards served as head coach of the Wild for two seasons from 2009-11.

Wild Head Coach John Hynes served in the same role for the Predators for parts of four seasons from 2020-23.

Minnesota forwards Frederick Gaudreau (2016-19), Ryan Hartman (2018-19) and Yakov Trenin (2019-24) were previous members of the Predators.

Milestone Watch:

Filip Forsberg scored his 300th career NHL goal on Jan. 16 vs. Chicago. He is one power-play goal (80) from passing Shea Weber (80) for the most in Predators history.

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

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

Steven Stamkos is four assists from 600 in his career.

Watch & Listen:

Coverage for Saturday night in Smashville 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.)