GAME DAY: Preds at Oilers, November 14
Key Players, Notable Stats, How to Watch and More
The Nashville Predators will continue their five-game road trip tonight as they begin a back-to-back in the province of Alberta by meeting the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place. This evening’s contest is already the third and final meeting between the two clubs this season – the Oilers have already defeated the Preds twice in Nashville.
The Predators began their excursion out west on Monday night with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Avalanche. That result didn’t fall in their favor, but Nashville says they’re seeing more consistency in their overall play, and they’re excited for the chance to keep building on it tonight.
“We’ve had two pretty good games in a row the way we want to play,” Preds forward Michael McCarron said following Wednesday’s practice in Edmonton. “Obviously we didn’t win the game Monday, so there’s still some things we can get better at… But we’re finally starting to understand our system, everybody’s playing the way we’re supposed to play, and it’s fun to be a part of it. We’re having way more fun playing as a group, just starting to understand why we do the things we do, and we’re seeing results because of that. So, it’s great. We had a great day of practice today, and just continuing to get better here as a group.”
On Wednesday, the Predators recalled defenseman Adam Wilsby from Milwaukee (AHL), and he practiced with the Preds in Edmonton. The 6-foot-1 defenseman has one goal and three points in 11 games with the Admirals this season; he has never played in the NHL.
Last Time Out:
Luke Evangelista and Colton Sissons tallied for the Preds in their OT loss in Colorado on Monday. Goaltender Juuse Saros made 29 saves in the loss.
The Good Guys:
Filip Forsberg leads the Preds with eight goals and 13 points through 16 games. Captain Roman Josi has 10 assists and 11 points, while Ryan O’Reilly (3g-7a) has 10 points. Gustav Nyquist has five goals on the season; Steven Stamkos has tallied on four occasions. Saros is 4-7-2 in net with a .911 save percentage; Scott Wedgewood has a 1-2-0 record.
The Opposition:
The Oilers have won three of five games in the month of November, including a 4-3 overtime victory against the Islanders on Tuesday. Edmonton Captain Connor McDavid, who had four points in the win, is just one point away from 1,000 for his NHL career. Leon Draisaitl leads the Oilers with 12 goals and 20 points, followed by McDavid (5g-12a) with 17 points. Defensemen Evan Bouchard (4g-6a) and Mattias Ekholm (2g-8a) have 10 points each. Goaltender Stuart Skinner is 5-5-1 in net; Calvin Pickard is 3-2-0.
All-Time Meetings:
The Predators are 46-35-(3)-4 all-time against the Oilers, including a 23-16-(0)-4 record in Edmonton.
The Predators have a record of 16-12-1 in their past 29 contests with the Oilers, including an 8-5-1 mark at Rogers Place.
Nashville won 13 straight games against Edmonton from Oct. 29, 2014-Oct. 20, 2018, outscoring the Oilers, 40-15, during the streak.
Notables Versus Edmonton:
Ryan O’Reilly has recorded 37 points (16g-21a) in his career against Edmonton, including his fifth career NHL hat trick as part of a four-point game (3g-1a) on Nov. 4 at Edmonton.
Filip Forsberg has tallied 26 points (14g-12a) in 26 career games against the Oilers. He became the second player in NHL history to score a “lacrosse-style” goal in Nashville’s game against Edmonton on Jan. 14, 2020.
Roman Josi has 18 assists and 22 points in 34 career meetings with Edmonton.
Juuse Saros set the Nashville franchise record for most saves in a shutout when he posted 46 vs. Edmonton on Dec. 14, 2017. In 12 career games vs. the Oilers, Saros is 3-7-1 with a .909 save percentage and two shutouts.
Milestone Watch:
Luke Schenn is one point from 200 in his NHL career.
Tommy Novak is one point from 100 in his NHL career.
Steven Stamkos is two games from 1,110 in his NHL career; Stamkos (217) is one power-play goal from passing Mike Gartner and Jaromir Jagr (217) for sole possession of the 11th-most in NHL history.
General Manager Barry Trotz is two games from 100 as a GM in his NHL career.
Filip Forsberg (78) is three power-play goals from passing Shea Weber (80) for the most in Predators history; Forsberg is five goals from 300 in his NHL career.
Roman Josi is three points from 700 in his NHL career.
Ryan O’Reilly is four assists from 500 in his NHL career.
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for tonight’s game begins at 7:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on FanDuel Sports Network 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. (El partido también se transmite en español por El Jefe en 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM y 810 AM.)