GAME DAY: Panthers vs. Preds, February 25

A four-game homestand continues tonight for the Nashville Predators as they host the Florida Panthers for a 7 p.m. CT puck drop at Bridgestone Arena. This evening’s contest - on 90s Night in Smashville - is the second and final meeting between the Preds and the defending Stanley Cup Champions.

The Predators returned from the 4 Nations Face-Off break on Saturday with a 2-1 victory over Colorado, but Sunday evening’s contest brought about a 5-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils. Tonight, Nashville will look to get back to what made them successful against the Avalanche as they face another one of the best teams in the NHL.

“It’s been one of the toughest years I've been a part of,” Preds Alternate Captain Ryan O’Reilly said following Sunday’s loss. “It comes with so much expectation, and just not living up to it. It hasn't been fun. But, we still have a lot of hockey left. We have to try to build something here, and we're not going to quit. It’s going to be on us leaders. We have to step up and find a way to generate something.”

Nashville kept the same lineup on both Saturday and Sunday, with Kieffer Bellows and Jake Livingstone servings as healthy scratches.

The Good Guys:

Filip Forsberg continues to lead the Preds with 21 goals and 53 points on the season, followed by Jonathan Marchessault with 18 goals and 45 points. Roman Josi has 29 assists and 38 points from the backend, O’Reilly has 14 goals and 34 points, while Steven Stamkos has 17 goals and 33 points on the season. Juuse Saros is 12-23-6 in net; Justus Annunen is 13-8-0 overall.

The Opposition:

The Panthers had won four of their last five headed into the NHL break, but they returned on Saturday with a 2-1 loss to Seattle. Sam Reinhart leads Florida with 31 goals and 62 points, followed by Matthew Tkachuk with 22 goals and 57 points. Aleksander Barkov has 38 assists and 52 points on the season; Carter Verhaeghe has 15 tallies and 43 points to his name. Sergei Bobrovsky is 23-13-2 in net; Spencer Knight is 11-8-1.

All-Time Meetings:

The Predators are 21-21-(3)-2 all-time against the Panthers, including a 10-10-(2)-1 mark at home. The Preds are 3-2-0 in their last five outings versus Florida and 5-5-0 in their last 10 outings. In front of a sell-out crowd of 17,298, the Predators played their first-ever NHL game vs. the Panthers on Oct. 10, 1998.

Notables Versus Florida:

Steven Stamkos has recorded 82 points (42g-40a) in 68 career regular-season games against the Panthers - the highest amount of goals and points he has totaled against a single franchise in his career. It’s also the second-most career points any player in NHL history has ever recorded against Florida (Alex Ovechkin; 45g-45a-90p).

Juuse Saros has played against the Panthers 12 times in his career, posting a .926 save percentage and 2.74 goals-against average.

Colton Sissons went 16-for-16 in faceoffs on Feb. 22, 2022 at Florida, becoming the fourth NHL player since 1997-98 to take at least 16 faceoffs in a game and win them all.

Jonathan Marchessault played 75 games for Florida in 2016-17, recording 51 points (30g-21a), at the time career highs in all three categories.

Andrew Brunette’s first NHL head coaching job came with the Panthers during the 2021-22 campaign. Serving as interim head coach, the Panthers went 51-18-6, earning the franchise’s first Presidents’ Trophy, and Brunette finished second in Jack Adams voting.

Milestone Watch:

Steven Stamkos is two assists from 600 in his NHL career. Stamkos (572) is two goals from passing Mike Bossy (573) for the 23rd-most in NHL history.

Ryan O’Reilly is four goals from 300 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.)