Nashville @ Carolina preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 27, 2019 ) Nashville 2, Carolina 1

The Nashville Predators are beginning to turn things around after a six-game losing streak, but must recover from a heartbreaking overtime loss when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night. The Predators swept a pair of games from reigning Stanley Cup champion St. Louis after suffering through a 0-5-1 stretch before giving up a goal in the final second of regulation and losing 4-3 to Vegas on Wednesday.

“It would’ve been nice to keep this little streak we had going, especially after the negative streak we had,” Nashville defenseman Ryan Ellis told reporters. “It happens, and we’ve got to move past it. Obviously, we can learn from some of the mistakes, but we need to move past this as fast as we can.” The Predators aim to snap a six-game losing streak against the Hurricanes, who scored a total of 11 goals in the last two victories and are 6-0-1 in the past seven meetings. Carolina must also rebound from defeat after giving up three goals in the first period and not climbing all the way back in a 3-2 setback for its second loss in eight contests. “You have to play for 60 minutes,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters. “We weren’t ready from the start. We were a little sluggish. Bing, bing, bing, and now you have to dig yourself out of a hole. We weren’t able to do that.”

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Tennessee (Nashville), FS Carolinas

ABOUT THE PREDATORS (11-9-4): Nashville continues to get production from its blueline as captain Roman Josi leads the team with 24 points (two goals, nine goals this month) and Ellis is tied for second with center Matt Duchene at 19. Forward Mikael Granlund has warmed up after a slow start, in which he managed four points in the first 17 games, contributing two goals and five assists in his past seven contests. “I think he’s been probably one of our most noticeable players,” coach Peter Laviolette told reporters. “The production is coming now, but he’s working so hard every game. It’s hard not to notice him out there and the things that he does.”

ABOUT THE HURRICANES (15-9-1): Andrei Svechnikov looks to extend his point streak to 10 games Friday after recording five goals and eight assists over the last nine to take over the team lead with 28 points. Defenseman Dougie Hamilton continues to contribute on both ends of the ice with three of his 26 points in the past three games and a team-best plus-15 rating while left wing Teuvo Teravainen notched seven of his 26 points over the last four contests. Forward Warren Foegele scored his fourth goal in 12 games Wednesday after being blanked the first 13 contests of the season and registered a career-best nine shots.

OVERTIME

1. Carolina C Sebastian Aho has scored nine of his team-high 12 goals in 13 games this month.

2. Nashville G Pekka Rinne, who sat out the last three games after giving up 18 goals in four contests, needs one win for 350 in his career.

3. The Hurricanes are 2-for-17 on the power play in the past six games while the Predators are 1-for-17 in the same span.

PREDICTION: Hurricanes 3, Predators 2