GAME DAY: Panthers vs. Preds, November 24

The Nashville Predators begin a busy Thanksgiving week tonight when they host the Florida Panthers for a 7 p.m. CT puck drop at Bridgestone Arena. This evening’s contest is the first of two meetings between the Preds and the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions this season; they’ll get together again next week in South Florida.

After returning home from the NHL Global Series in Sweden, the Predators outshot and outplayed the League’s top team on Saturday night, but they ultimately fell to Colorado by a 3-0 final. Now, they’ll look to build off the return of Captain Roman Josi to the lineup as the Panthers come to town.

“That was awesome,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said Saturday of the Captain’s return. “[He’s] a little bit of a game changer for us. [He] can control the tempo of the game. We move pucks much better off our own men. I thought offensively, we were a little bit more dynamic in different areas, and that's just his first game back. So, I think for me, and I think for our group, we're really excited to have him, and I think we'll just get better here, the more he plays.”

With Josi returning to the Nashville lineup, Justin Barron and Adam Wilsby were healthy scratches on the backend. The Preds did not practice on Sunday but are scheduled to hold a morning skate today.

The Good Guys:

Filip Forsberg continues to lead the Preds with eight goals and 15 points, followed by Ryan O’Reilly with six goals and 13 points. Rookie Matthew Wood has six goals as well, and he, along with Michael Bunting (4g-6a), Erik Haula (3g-7a) and Luke Evangelista (2g-8a) all have 10 points each. Juuse Saros is 6-7-3 in net; Justus Annunen is 0-4-1.

The Opposition:

The Panthers fell to the Edmonton Oilers by a 6-3 score in a Stanley Cup Final rematch on Saturday night. Overall, Florida has won four of their last six games while forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov remain out due to injury. Brad Marchand leads the team with 13 goals and 24 points, followed by Sam Reinhart with 12 goals and 18 points. Sergei Bobrovsky is 10-6-0 in net; Daniil Tarasov is 1-3-1.

All-Time Meetings:

The Predators are 21-22-(3)-2 all-time against the Panthers, including a 10-11-(2)-1 mark at home. Nashville is 5-5-0 in their last 10 versus Florida and 1-4-0 in the last five at Bridgestone Arena.

Notables Versus Florida:

Steven Stamkos has recorded 82 points (42g-40a) in 69 career regular-season games against the Panthers; it is the highest amount of goals and points he has totaled against a single franchise in his career.

Filip Forsberg has 24 points (7g-17a) in 23 career games against Florida, with 10 of those points (3g-7a) coming in six contests in 2020-21. Forsberg has eight points (3g-5a) in his last six games against the Panthers.


Nick Perbix played in his 200th career game on March 3, 2025 at Florida as a member of Tampa Bay. Perbix has played the Panthers 11 times in his career, tied for his most against a single franchise.


Andrew Brunette served as interim head coach of the Panthers during the 2021-22 campaign, leading the team to a 51-18-6 record and the franchise’s first Presidents’ Trophy. Assistant Coach Derek MacKenzie played the final five seasons of his NHL career with Florida from 2014-19, tallying 54 points (20g-34a) in 304 games. He captained the Panthers from 2016-18.


Milestone Watch:

Michael Bunting is one goal from 100 in his NHL career.

Ryan O’Reilly is three power play goals from 100 in his career.

Filip Forberg is four points from 700 in his NHL career.

Luke Evangelista is four points from 100 in his NHL career.

Watch & Listen:

Coverage for tonight’s contest 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 Max Herz 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.)