The Nashville Predators will start their season on Thursday at home against the Dallas Stars with an 8:00 PM EST puck drop. The Predators were supposed to wrap up their preseason schedule last night against the Tampa Bay Lighting, but the game was canceled giving Nashville a 2-3-0 record in the preseason. Yesterday, all 32 teams were to have their rosters set for the opening night of the season. The Predators General Manager Barry Trotz announced yesterday that Marc Del Gaizo was assigned to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL; Del Gaizo in the preseason would play in three games recording no points, he was a plus one, he had four blocks, six hits, and four shot on goal. Defenseman Tanner Molendyk was assigned to Saskatoon of the WHL; in the preseason he played in three games, he failed to record a point, he was an even in plus/minus, had two shots on goal, one hit, and one blocked shot. Forwards Austin Roest, Fedor Svechkov, and defenseman Spencer Stastney were designated non-rosters.
The opening night roster includes 13 forwards, six defensemen, and two goalies. The forwards are, Luke Evangelista, Filip Forsberg, Mark Jankowski, Jonathan Marchessault, Michael McCarron, Tommy Novak, Gustav Nyquist, Ryan O’Reilly, Juuso Parssinen, Colton Sissons, Cole Smith, Steven Stamkos, Philip Tomasino. The projected lines are
Filip Forsberg – Ryan O’Reilly – Gustav Nyquist
Steven Stamkos – Tommy Novak – Jonathan Marchessault
Luke Evangelista – Colton Sissons – Philip Tomasino
Mark Jankowski – Michael McCarron – Cole Smith
Extra: Juuso Parssinen
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The defensemen on the roster are Alexandre Carrier, Dante Fabbro, Roman Josi, Jeremy Lauzon, Luke Schenn, and Brady Skjei. The projected pairings for Thursday are
Roman Josi – Dante Fabbro
Brady Skjei – Luke Schenn
Jeremy Lauzon – Alexandre Carrier
Finally, the two goalies are Juuse Saros and Scott Wedgewood, with Saros likely starting in net on Thursday night.
There are high expectations for the Predators this season after sneaking into the playoffs last season, they brought in Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei to hopefully help get them over the hump and make a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
