Predators host Hurricanes at Bridgestone Arena

The Carolina Hurricanes visit the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night, with puck drop at 8 p.m. ET at Bridgestone Arena. It is the first of two meetings between the clubs this season. The Predators Hurricanes matchup brings the Metropolitan Division's front-runner to a Nashville team still searching for consistency in November. Read more: Predators host Hurricanes at Bridgestone Arena

Carolina enters at 12-2-2, including 7-1-1 on the road. That's good enough for first place in the Metropolitan Division. The Hurricanes have also won four of their last five games. Nashville, meanwhile, sits at 5-4-5 overall and 4-3-2 at home, and the Predators have dropped three of their last five.

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Carolina's goaltending edge

Pyotr Kochetkov has anchored Carolina's fast start. The Hurricanes goaltender has yet to lose in regulation this season. His goals-against average is 1.66, with a save percentage near .92. Backup Brandon Bussi has a 3.27 GAA in his own starts, so there's been little reason for a change.

Nashville's Juuse Saros remains the more proven goaltender, even in a bumpier season. He is 3-3-4 with a 2.94 GAA and a .902 save percentage. Justus Annunen has also made a handful of starts behind him. As of Tuesday afternoon, neither team had named a starter.

Taylor Hall remains out with an upper-body injury, and the team had targeted a return around this date. Alexander Nikishin is out for a non-injury reason, with his return eyed for Nov. 7. Jordan Staal remains on injured reserve with a calf injury not expected to clear until December. Nashville, by contrast, enters the game with a clean injury report.

Filip Forsberg, Steven Stamkos and Roman Josi carry Nashville's offense into the matchup. Sebastian Aho and Logan Stankoven lead Carolina's attack. The game streams nationally on ESPN+. Locally, it airs on Scripps Sports, which took over as the Predators' local TV home. The new deal, the team said, reaches 90 to 95 percent of households in the Nashville market.

A home win over the division leader would be the clearest sign yet that Nashville's season has turned a corner.

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The two teams meet again Jan. 2 in Raleigh, the only other Predators Hurricanes game on this season's schedule.