Game Day: Preds at Oilers Preview
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The Nashville Predators will look to put Saturday’s shutout loss to the Washington Capitals in the rearview mirror as they head to Edmonton for a Western Conference tilt against the Oilers. Puck drops at 8 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised on Bally Sports South.
Nashville made one roster change before leaving for Edmonton, the first stop of a five-game road trip. President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Monday that the team had recalled defenseman Jordan Gross from Milwaukee (AHL) and placed defenseman Mark Borowiecki on injured reserve (upper body).
The Preds were scheduled to practice Monday morning but did not due to a mechanical failure with the ice system at Centennial Sportsplex. The group still got together for team meetings and workouts prior to leaving for Edmonton, and they will hold a morning skate at Rogers Place Tuesday.
Line ‘Em Up
Below are Nashville’s lines from Saturday’s game vs. Washington:
Forsberg – Johansen – DucheneGranlund – Glass – NiederreiterTrenin – Sissons – JeannotSmith – McCarron – Sanford
Josi – FabbroEkholm – CarrierMcDonagh – Lauzon
Saros
The Good Guys
Roman Josi (1g-2a), Filip Forsberg (3a) and Matt Duchene (3a) all recorded three points in Thursday’s win vs. St. Louis. Josi, who scored his first goal and notched his first multi-point outing of the season, recorded his 25th career three-point game. He trails only Erik Karlsson (36) and Victor Hedman (33) for the most such games among NHL defensemen since his debut season in 2011-12. In 2021-22, Josi led all NHL blueliners in three-point games (12).
Thursday’s tilt was Forsberg’s 31st career three-point game, the most in Predators history. It also marked his first multi-point outing of the season. All three of Duchene’s points came in the third period, matching the franchise record for most assists in a single period. It was the 17th time in Predators history a player has recorded at least three assists in a single period.
Mikael Granlund opened 2022-23 with six assists and seven points in his first eight games. Prior to Thursday’s game vs. St. Louis, it was the 11th instance of a player in franchise history recording at least six assists in the team’s first seven games of a season. The last to do so was Roman Josi in 2021-22 (6a).
The Other Guys
Edmonton enters Tuesday’s game on a four-game win streak. Oilers captain Connor McDavid was recently named the NHL’s First Star of the Week after racking up four goals and four assists in the four consecutive wins.
McDavid leads all NHL skaters with 18 points (9g-9a). He also sits atop the NHL leaderboard with nine goals, and Leon Draisaitl has dished out a league-leading 12 assists.
All-Time Meetings
The Predators are 44-29-(3)-4 all-time against the Oilers, including a 22-14-(0)-4 record on the road. This is the first of three matchups between Nashville and Edmonton in 2022-23; it is the first and only at Rogers Place.
Nashville went 0-2-1 vs. Edmonton last season, earning a point in a 3-2 shootout loss on Jan. 27. The Preds are seeking their first win over the Oilers since Feb. 25, 2019, a six-game drought (0-5-1).
Notables vs. Edmonton
Last Time Out
Nashville moved to 2-3-1 at home this season with the loss to Washington on Saturday. The Predators were shut out for the first time since April 14, 2022 vs. Edmonton.
Saros made 32 saves on 34 shots against; it was his fourth 30-save performance of the season. Josi led all Predators skaters with five shots, and Tanner Jeannot led all skaters in hits with seven.
Watch & Listen
Coverage for Tuesday’s game begins at 7:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! Pregame show on Bally Sports South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic and analyst Chris Mason will have the call on the television side.
Max Herz and Hal Gill 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.