Voltar
NASHVILLE — The Nashville Predators head back out on the road tonight for a one-game stop in Denver, where they face the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena at 8:30 p.m. CT. The trip follows a homestand that closed with a 4-1 win over Carolina on Tuesday night.
Both teams come in tightly bunched in the Central Division. Nashville sits at 6-4-5 with 17 points, while Colorado is 9-6-1 with 19, so the Avalanche hold a slim two-point edge. A regulation win for the Predators would quickly flip that gap.
The road has been the problem. Nashville has lost three straight away from Bridgestone Arena, with those losses coming at Ottawa, Boston, and Pittsburgh. Ball Arena is not an easy place to break the streak, since Colorado is looking to extend a four-game home winning streak.
The Predators do have some recent history to lean on. They hosted the same Avalanche squad on Oct. 25 and won 6-2, the first game of a five-game homestand that Nashville finished 3-1-1. That doesn’t carry over to tonight, but it shows the Predators can score against this team.
Tuesday’s win over the Hurricanes was a grind. Nashville was outshot 30-20, yet Roman Josi scored the game-winner, Ross Colton added an empty-netter, and Filip Forsberg picked up two assists to keep the puck moving in the right direction.
Forsberg is the player to watch again tonight. He has 19 points and five goals through 15 games this season, and he put up three points, including a goal, in the earlier meeting with Colorado. Whenever Nashville’s offense is clicking, he’s usually driving it.
On the other side, Colorado has been up and down. The Avalanche beat Chicago 5-2 on Monday, then got blown out 7-2 in Columbus the next night. Nathan MacKinnon has nine goals and 18 assists for 27 points, and he’ll be motivated to make up for that loss on home ice.
The Predators also have a slightly different feel tonight. The team’s annual Dads’ Trip is happening in Denver, which gives a regular-season game a little extra meaning. Nashville will want to send them home happy, especially with a noon game against St. Louis at Bridgestone on Saturday.
This section will be updated during pregame warmups.
This section will be updated during pregame warmups.
Nashville
Colorado
Source: DraftKings