A six-game road trip continues tonight as the Nashville Predators arrive in Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Mammoth from Delta Center at 8 p.m. CT. This evening’s contest is the second of four meetings between the Preds and Mammoth this season; Nashville fell to Utah at home back in October.
The Predators saw their three-game win streak come to an end on Saturday night in St. Louis with a 3-2 loss to the Blues out of the Christmas break. Now, Nashville will look for a better start as they work to get back into the win column against a club just three points ahead of them in the Central Division standings.
“We know this is a huge road trip,” Preds forward Tyson Jost said following Saturday’s loss. “A lot of teams that we're playing, we're fighting for playoff spots with, and we're crawling back in it. So, these are massive games. It's a playoff mentality from here on out, and kind of has been for us ever since we went through that tough stretch, so we’ve got to keep the mentality up and keep pushing… You want to be playing that hockey that really matters.”
Prior to Saturday’s game, the Preds activated defenseman Justin Barron from Injured Reserve, but he was a healthy scratch against the Blues. Winger Jonathan Marchessault did not play and remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
The Predators arrived in Utah and practiced on Sunday afternoon.
