A four-game journey out west for the Nashville Predators begins tonight in Seattle when they take on the Kraken for a 9 p.m. CT puck drop at Climate Pledge Arena. This evening’s contest is the second of three meetings between the two this season; the Preds will host the Kraken next week back in Nashville.
After a 6-3 win over Boston on Thursday, the Preds nearly defeated the Sabres on Saturday night in a 3-2 loss. Just six weeks remain in the regular season, and there are only 19 games left on the Nashville schedule.
Most notably - 13 of those 19 games come against teams all currently within 11 points of one another in the West, including tonight’s outing against the Kraken.
“Make a push for the playoffs,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said of the group’s mindset with 19 games to go. “We talked about it. This is the team going forward. I think we were kind of in this position three years ago where you sold a couple pieces and we kind of made a push for the playoff spot. And this year, [it's] no different. We want to make a push. We're right there. We’ve got some big games coming up, and it hasn't changed [since the trade deadline]. Our goal is still to make the playoffs.”
The Predators practiced on Monday afternoon upon arriving in Seattle. Defenseman Adam Wilsby, who is week-to-week with a lower-body injury, was the lone absentee.
The Good Guys:
Matthew Wood and Zach L’Heureux tallied for Nashville on Saturday in Buffalo, while Juuse Saros took the loss in net. Wood now has three goals in his last two games, and L’Heureux’s marker was his first of the season after being recalled two weeks ago.
Ryan O’Reilly (22g-38a) is the first member of the Preds to reach the 60-point mark this season, followed by Filip Forsberg (28g-25a) with 53 points. Steven Stamkos has 30 goals and 50 points, while Luke Evangelista has 38 assists and 47 points. Saros is now 22-19-6 in net; Justus Annunen is 6-8-2.
The Opposition:
The Kraken have dropped two straight, including a 7-4 loss to Ottawa on Saturday. Jordan Eberle leads the Kraken with 22 goals and 44 points, followed by Matty Beniers with 16 goals and 39 points. Goaltender Joey Daccord is 18-14-5 in net; Philipp Grubauer is 11-8-3.
All-Time Meetings:
The Preds are 5-6-0 all-time against the Kraken, including a 2-5-0 mark on the road. Nashville is 4-6-0 in the last 10 versus Seattle but just 1-4-0 in the last five meetings in Washington.
Nashville Notables:
Jonathan Marchessault’s assist on Saturday was the 300th of his career; he became the third active undrafted skater in the League to reach that mark.
Since returning from the Olympic break, Nashville’s power play has clicked at 35.3 percent, the third-best in the NHL.
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for this evening’s contest begins at 8:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on FanDuel Sports Network South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic and Chris Mason will have the call on the television side. Max Herz and Hal Gill will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network.
