Predators at Hurricanes
The Nashville Predators attempt to salvage the finale of their three-game road trip when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. Nashville began the trek with an overtime loss in St. Louis and was trounced at Dallas on Thursday for its fourth straight road defeat and sixth in seven contests away from home (1-3-3).
No member of the Predators is struggling more on the road than Pekka Rinne, who is 0-6-2 with an .874 save percentage in his last eight games outside of Music City. Carolina went 8-5-1 in December, but the play of its goaltenders should have resulted in a better record. Eddie Lack has reaped the rewards of his efforts, going 4-0-1 over his last five starts after beginning the season with one win in eight decisions (1-6-1), while Cam Ward is 2-3-0 despite yielding two goals or fewer four times in that stretch. Nashville won the initial contest of the 2015-16 two-game series, edging Carolina 2-1 at home on Oct. 8 in the season opener for both.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Tennessee (Nashville), FSN Carolinas
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (18-13-7): Defenseman Shea Weber will claim second place on the franchise list by playing in his 724th career game Saturday. The captain, who ranks second on the team in goals (11) and points (26), is tied with Martin Erat but has a long way to go to catch leader David Legwand (956 games). James Neal leads Nashville with 15 goals, but has tallied in only four of his last 21 contests.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (16-17-5): Carolina is hoping Eric Staal finally has found his scoring touch as the captain has recorded three of his eight goals this season in his last two games. Prior to his current surge, Staal netted one tally in 24 contests. Jeff Skinner, who tops the club with 15 goals, also may be snapping out of a funk as he scored the winner against Washington on Thursday after enduring a six-game drought that followed a stretch in which he recorded two hat tricks in three games.
OVERTIME
1. Saturday's contest features two of the NHL's top five scoring defensemen in Carolina's Justin Faulk (fourth with 30 points) and Nashville's Roman Josi (fifth, 29), who both lead their respective teams.
2. Eight of Weber's 11 goals have been scored on the power play.
3. Carolina rookie D Noah Hanifin missed practice Friday with an illness and will be a game-time decision.