The Nashville Predators are set to conclude the second half of a back-to-back set tonight in Columbus when they take on the Blue Jackets for a 6 p.m. CT puck drop at Nationwide Arena. This evening’s contest will also be shown as a special animated presentation of “Music City Hockey in Smashville” on NewsChannel 5 in the Nashville market. Click here for more information.
The Predators began their current three-game road trip last night in Philadelphia with a 2-1 loss. Nashville outshot the Flyers and were largely pleased with their effort, but the scoreboard didn’t fall in their favor. Now they’ll look for a different result against a Columbus team that continues to fight for a playoff spot.
“I feel like every game now, [we’ve been] playing good hockey,” Preds forward Zach L’Heureux said following Monday’s loss. “So we're making plays. We're getting our chances, and sometimes just a little bit of that puck luck, or we're shooting ourselves in the foot with one mistake. So it's tough, but we just got to, like I said, turn the page, focus on the next game, and take the positives away that we have from this game.”
Prior to Monday’s game, the Predators announced both Colton Sissons (week-to-week) and Jonathan Marchessault (day-to-day) would miss time with lower-body injuries. As a result, the Preds went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen against the Flyers with all of their healthy players dressed. Forward Matthew Wood, who signed with the Predators on Saturday after the conclusion of his junior season at the University of Minnesota, has yet to join the club.
The Good Guys:
L’Heureux scored the lone goal for Nashville on Monday in Philadelphia, and Justus Annunen took the loss in net.
Filip Forsberg continues to lead the Preds with 28 goals and 67 points, followed by Jonathan Marchessault (19g-30a) with 49 points and Steven Stamkos with 23 goals and 45 points. Juuse Saros is 18-28-6 in net; Annunen is now 14-13-1 overall.
The Opposition:
The Blue Jackets had won two in a row before falling to Ottawa by a 3-2 count on Saturday. Defenseman Zach Werenski (20g-52a) leads Columbus with 72 points, followed by Kirill Marchenko with 28 goals and 66 points. Kent Johnson (46 points) and Adam Fantilli (44 points) have 22 goals each on the season. Elvis Merzlikins is 24-29-5 in net; Daniil Tarasov is 7-9-2.
All-Time Meetings:
The Predators are 70-23-(1)-8 all-time against the Blue Jackets, including a 27-17-5 mark on the road. Nashville is 7-2-1 in their last 10 outings versus Columbus and 2-2-1 in the last five at Nationwide Arena.
The Predators posted a 17-game home winning streak against the Blue Jackets that spanned five seasons from 2006-11. Nashville’s 70 wins against Columbus are the second-most against a single franchise (Chicago – 72) in team history.
The Predators own an all-time point percentage of .730 against the Blue Jackets. That is the highest mark Nashville has against any single team in the NHL.
Notables Versus Columbus:
Brady Skjei has tallied 20 points (8g-12a) in 35 career games against the Blue Jackets, his most against a single franchise in his NHL career.
Steven Stamkos has posted 40 points (20g-20a) in 34 career games against Columbus, including two four-point outings (April 9, 2024, 3g-1a; April 26, 2022, 2g-2a).
Three of the 10 most winningest goaltenders against Columbus in NHL history played for the Predators: Pekka Rinne (first, 22), Tomas Vokoun (third, 20) and Chris Mason (tied for seventh, 16).
Milestone Watch:
Ryan O’Reilly is one goal from 300 in his NHL career.
Jakub Vrana is one game from 400 in his NHL career.
Brady Skjei is three assists from 200 in his NHL career.
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for this evening’s game begins at 5:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on FanDuel Sports Network South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic will have the call on the television side.
Max Herz and Chris Mason will call the “Music City Hockey in Smashville” animated showcase on NewsChannel 5.
Voice of the Preds Pete Weber will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network. 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.)
