Predators Host Panthers: Keys to Tonight's Game

Roman Josi and the Nashville Predators will welcome Sam Reinhart and the Florida Panthers as both teams hope to get back in the "win" column.

Tonight the 25-20-1 Nashville Predators host the 27-14-4 Florida Panthers in their first of two meetings this season. 

Florida is playing for another chance to get back to the Stanley Cup Finals and currently sits just behind the Boston Bruins in the Atlantic Division with 58 points. It hasn't exactly been smooth sailing for the Panthers who are hoping to break a four game losing streak tonight. They lost to the New Jersey Devils, lost in overtime to the Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings, and dropped a shocker to the Minnesota Wild. Those losses are coming on the heels of a nine game win streak for the Panthers. 

Much of this season's success can be credited to Sam Reinhart and the career year he is having. The 28-year-old Vancouver native leads the Panthers with 33 goals in 45 games, tying his career high just over midway through this season. He is second in the entire league in goals behind Austin Matthews and is heading to his first All Star Weekend in February. The loss to Minnesota on Friday ended an eight game goal streak for Reinhart. In the first nine games of 2024, Reinhart has ten goals and 13 points. 

The Panthers will be without another one of their main offensive players as Aleksander Barkov is expected to miss tonight's game with a lower body injury while former Predator Nick Cousins is also out of the line up with a concussion. Sergei Bobrovsky is likely to get the start in net tonight. He was pulled in the game against Minnesota after allowing four goals on 15 shots. 

The Predators are coming off of a disappointing performance in Arizona on Saturday night. The 3-2 loss against the Coyotes wrapped up a three game road trip in which the Predators went 1-2. The Predators have gone 6-4 in their last ten games.  

The Predators have relied heavily on their top line of Filip Forsberg, Ryan O'Reilly, and Gustav Nyquist for offensive production, but head coach Andrew Brunette has made a few line adjustments trying to spark depth scoring for the team. Tommy Novak got a late goal for the Predators on Saturday, but Nashville needs more offensive production from their bottom six. 

Home ice hasn't always been an advantage this season for the Predators, but they have gone 2-2 at Bridgestone Arena so far in January. Getting wins in front of their fans is a focus area for Andrew Brunette, and despite the loss Saturday in Arizona, the Predators have proven they can bounce back from tough losses and perform well in their next outing. 

1. Contain top players. Whichever team can contain their opponent's top players will likely get the win. Nashville's defense and goaltending will need to shut down Reinhart along with the Tkachuk, Verhaeghe, and Bennett line. The Panthers will need to neutralize Forsberg, O'Reilly, and Nyquist. The team that can prevent hot players from getting on a roll could get back in the "win" column tonight. 

2. It's going to get physical. The Panthers like to play a physical in your face style, but the Nashville Predators lead the league in hits. Tonight's game is going to get physical, and players like Matthew Tkachuk and Jeremy Lauzon will need to skate the fine line between physicality that helps their teams and penalties the hurt their team. 

3. Keep an eye on special teams. The Panthers have a strong penalty kill but it was picked apart on Friday night as the Wild went 5 for 6 on the power play against Florida. While that poor special teams performance is out of the norm for the Panthers, it may give the Predators an opportunity as players like O'Reilly and Nyquist can capitalize on the man advantage. 

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm CT. Tonight's game will be broadcast on Bally Sports South while 102.5 The Game will have the radio call.