Game Day: Preds vs. Rangers Preview

The Nashville Predators closed out their five-game road trip with a 2-3-0 record, picking up wins at Calgary and Vancouver. After back-to-back losses in Seattle and Colorado, the Preds will look to get back in the win column Saturday when they host the New York Rangers at Bridgestone Arena.

In their first home game since Oct. 29, the Preds will debut their adidas Reverse Retro jerseys for the 2022-23 season. The puck drops at 7 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on Bally Sports South and 102.5 The Game. Here’s everything you need to know:

Line ‘Em Up

Below are Nashville’s lines from Thursday’s game at Colorado:

Forsberg – Granlund – DucheneNiederreiter – Johansen – SissonsTrenin – Jankowski – JeannotSmith – Glass – Tolvanen

Josi – FabbroEkholm – CarrierMcDonagh – Lauzon

Lankinen

The Good Guys

Roman Josi has seven points (3g-4a) in his last seven games after scoring on Thursday at Colorado. He tallied four points (2g-2a) during Nashville’s five-game road trip, averaging a team-high 23:56 of ice time. Josi leads NHL defensemen in shots on goal (59) and is 11th in average TOI (24:38).

Filip Forsberg (483) passed Martin Erat (481) and moved into sole possession of third place on the Predators’ all-time points list on Tuesday at Seattle. After tallying an assist on Thursday at Colorado, he leads Nashville in points with 14 (5g-9a) and has three multi-point outings in his last seven games. Forsberg led Nashville in goals (3) and points (7) during its five-game road trip; four of his points (4a) came on the power play.

Mikael Granlund has opened 2022-23 with 10 assists and 11 points in his first 14 games.

Nino Niederreiter has six goals and eight points in his first 14 games with the Predators to begin 2022-23. Two of his team-leading six goals have been on the power play.

Predators defensemen have taken 320 shot attempts, the fourth-most among all NHL teams. Nashville’s 142 shots on goal from blueliners are tied for the seventh-most in the NHL.

The Predators are fifth in the NHL in face-off percentage (54 percent). Among NHL players who have taken at least 200 faceoffs, Ryan Johansen is first at 64.9 percent.

Johansen has won at least 50 percent of his faceoffs in a franchise-record 18 consecutive games. The previous record was held by current Predators Assistant GM Scott Nichol, who did so in 17 straight games during the 2006-07 season.

Colton Sissons is second in the NHL in shorthanded faceoffs won (30).

The Other Guys

The Rangers snapped a three-game skid with a decisive 8-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. Mika Zibanejad leads New York with nine goals, including two in Thursday’s win.

Artemi Panarin leads the team with 21 points (5g-16a), and his 16 assists are also a team high. Goaltender Igor Shesterkin has gone 7-2-2 this season with a 2.53 GAA and a .909 save percentage.

All-Time Meetings

The Predators are 14-15-(1)-2 all-time against the Rangers, including a 5-8-(0)-2 record at Bridgestone Arena. This is the first of two matchups between Nashville and the Rangers in 2022-23; it is the first and only at home.

Nashville went 1-1-0 vs. the Rangers last season, earning a 1-0 victory at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 12, 2021.

Notables vs. NY Rangers

Juuse Saros owns a 2.02 goals-against average, .931 save percentage and one shutout in seven career games against the Rangers.

Josi has 12 points (4g-8a) in 17 career games vs. the Rangers, including three multi-point efforts. He notched three points (2g-1a) against the Rangers on Dec. 16, 2019.

Mattias Ekholm has posted five points (2g-3a) in his last eight games against the Rangers.

Granlund has produced at nearly a point-per-game pace vs. the Rangers in his career, recording 13 points (4g-9a) in 14 games, including five (3g-2a) in his last five games. Granlund matched his career high for points in a game with four (2g-2a) against New York on Feb. 23, 2018.

Sissons has four points (2g-2a) in his last six games vs. the Rangers.

Ryan McDonagh served as captain of the Rangers for parts of four seasons from 2014-18; he helped lead New York to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final.

Last Time Out

Nashville moved to 3-5-0 on the road in 2022-23 with Thursday’s loss to Colorado. After Eeli Tolvanen opened the game’s scoring at 3:45 of the first, the Avalanche tallied the next five goals.

Nine different Predators skaters recorded a point in the loss. Johansen scored his second power-play goal of the season, and Josi made it a 5-3 game less than three minutes into the third period.

Watch & Listen

Coverage for Saturday’s game begins at 6:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! Pregame show on Bally Sports South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley alongside analyst Hal Gill. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic and analyst Chris Mason will have the call on the television side.

Pete Weber and Jay More 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.

Tags: GAME DAY

Police suspect murder-suicide in deaths of two people found in Bevo Mill home in St. Louis

Oilers’ Sam Carrick: Scores first goal with new team

LeBron James, Steve Kerr, More Discuss ‘Bizarre’ Ending to Lakers vs. Warriors

You may have missed

Police suspect murder-suicide in deaths of two people found in Bevo Mill home in St. Louis

AFL world all saying the same thing about Matt Hill’s commentary work

Mets’ Jeff McNeil to hit in a game for the first time this spring

Will Cody Ceci Score a Goal Against the Avalanche on March 16?

‘Walker’ Season 4 Premiere Date Revealed

More Stories

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You may have missed