Nashville Hosts Detroit for Monday Afternoon Tilt
The Nashville Predators begin the March portion of their schedule today with a special Monday afternoon tilt against the Detroit Red Wings – 1 p.m. CT at Bridgestone Arena. Today’s contest is the second and final meeting between the two clubs this season; the Preds beat the Wings in November.
After a victory over Chicago on Thursday night, the Preds fell to the Dallas Stars in overtime on Saturday, but they’ve still collected three out of a possible four points out of the Olympic break to keep them in the playoff hunt. Now, a stretch of three games in four days begins with a back-to-back set against Detroit and Columbus, and the Predators will look to continue to add points.
“I think back to learning a little bit,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said Saturday of how he views the week ahead. “Grow our game, build our game – [Saturday’s loss against Dallas is] a good experience for our group to go through. I thought different stretches we could show a little bit more poise with the puck, something we’ll address and work through. And we’ve got some really good teams coming in this week, so it’s another big week for us.”
“We’re excited to play games,” Preds forward Steven Stamkos said. “You get sick of practicing there for a while, so we’re excited about playing the games. This is the time of year you want to be playing meaningful hockey, and we are. So, that’s the mindset we have.”
Preds defenseman Adam Wilsby left Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury and did not return. With today’s game of the afternoon variety, the Predators will not hold a morning skate prior to puck drop.
Stamkos tallied his 30th goal of the season, and Michael Bunting scored on the power play in the 3-2 overtime loss to Dallas. Juuse Saros took the loss in net as he made his first appearance since returning from the Olympics.
Ryan O’Reilly has 21 goals and leads the Preds with 57 points, followed by Filip Forsberg (25g-23a) with 48 points and Stamkos with 30 goals and 46 points. Luke Evangelista has 36 assists and 44 points on the season; Roman Josi has 11 goals and 40 points from the back end. Saros is now 21-17-6 in net; Justus Annunen is 6-7-2.
The Red Wings beat Ottawa in overtime out of the Olympic break before suffering a 5-2 loss to the Hurricanes in Raleigh on Saturday night. Lucas Raymond (19g-43a) leads Detroit with 62 points, followed by Alex DeBrincat with 30 goals and 58 points. Dylan Larkin has 28 goals and 54 points on the season; Moritz Seider has 33 assists and 40 points from the blue line. Goaltender John Gibson is 23-12-2 in net; Cam Talbot is 11-8-4.
The Preds are 47-54-(4)-11 all-time against the Red Wings, including a 27-25-(2)-3 mark at home. Nashville is 6-3-1 in the last 10 meetings versus Detroit and 5-0-0 in the last five at Bridgestone Arena.
The Predators are 10-5-1 in their last 16 games against the Red Wings, including six wins in a row from Feb. 23, 2021-Jan. 22, 2022, the franchise’s longest-ever win streak vs. Detroit. Nashville has won six consecutive home contests against Detroit dating back to Jan. 22, 2022.
On Feb. 28, 2009, the Predators defeated the Red Wings, 8-0, at Bridgestone Arena. It is tied for the highest margin of victory in a game in franchise history.
Steven Stamkos hit the 30-goal mark for the tenth time in his career; in doing so, he became the third active player to record 10 career 30-goal seasons, joining Alex Ovechkin (19) and Sidney Crosby (13).
The Predators enter Monday’s game with a 19-11-4 record (42 points) in their last 34 games dating back to Dec. 1. In that span, Nashville’s 19 wins are tied for third-most in the Western Conference, trailing only Minnesota (21) and Colorado (21). Nashville is 1-0-1 in its two games since returning from the Olympic break. Today’s contest is also the first of four straight against Eastern Conference opponents; the Predators are 11-11-3 against teams from the East this season, earning points in four of their last five such occasions (2-1-2).
Nashville’s penalty kill on home ice is third in the League at 83.2 percent, and the team has scored a power-play goal in 11 of its last 15 games (14-for-44).
Jonathan Marchessault is one assist from 300 in his NHL career.
Andrew Brunette is two games from 300 as a head coach in his NHL career.
Brady Skjei is three points from 300 in his NHL career.
Coverage for this afternoon’s contest begins at 12:30 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.)
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