Predators host Lightning in Saturday matinee

Tampa Bay (8-3-1, 17 points) visits Nashville (4-4-5, 13 points) for a Saturday matinee at Bridgestone Arena. Puck drop is at 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT). It is the first Predators Lightning meeting of the season. Read more: Predators Lightning meet in Saturday matinee

Nashville is 3-3-2 at home and has lost two straight. That stretch includes a shootout defeat to the Islanders and a 4-3 loss to Washington on Thursday. The skid still has the Predators hovering around .500 early in the season.

Tampa Bay is 2-3-1 on the road, but the Lightning have won three of their last five. They are coming off a 6-4 win over Winnipeg on Thursday.

Juuse Saros has carried the heavier workload in Nashville's net. He is 3-3-4 with a 2.94 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage in 10 appearances. Justus Annunen is also 1-1-0 with a 4.00 GAA and an .846 save percentage in two games.

Tampa Bay's workload leader is Andrei Vasilevskiy. He is 6-3-0 with a 2.92 GAA and an .876 save percentage in nine games. Dennis Hildeby, in turn, is 2-0-1 with a 2.98 GAA and an .885 save percentage in three games.

Related: Behind the glass: Capitals 4, Predators 3 — Caps make music in Nashville, edge Preds

Injury report favors Nashville

Nashville carries a clean injury report into the matinee and lists no players, but Tampa Bay is thinner up front. Center Zemgus Girgensons is day-to-day with a lower-body injury and could return as early as Saturday. Center Yanni Gourde, however, remains on injured reserve after hip surgery and is not expected back until December.

The special-teams numbers favor Nashville on paper. The Predators' power play ranks third in the NHL at 31.8 percent. Their penalty kill sits fourth at 88.1 percent. That offsets a lineup that ranks 23rd in scoring at 2.85 goals a game. But Tampa Bay's offense ranks sixth at 3.67 goals a night.

Related: Capitals beat Predators on Tuch's third-period goal

DraftKings lists Tampa Bay as a -170 moneyline favorite on the road, with Nashville at +142, according to ESPN's odds tracker. The puck line has the Lightning at -1.5 (+145) and the Predators at +1.5 (-175). Meanwhile, the total sits at 6.5 goals (over +114, under -135).

ESPN+ will also stream Saturday's Predators Lightning matchup nationally, with Scripps Sports handling Nashville's home broadcast.

If doctors clear Girgensons to play, Tampa Bay will be at full strength at Bridgestone Arena except for Gourde.

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