PREDATORS (32-22-9) at CANADIENS (35-21-8)
7:30 p.m. ET; SN, RDS, FS-TN, NHL.TV
Predators team scope
Defenseman P.K. Subban said he doesn't have any butterflies about facing the Montreal Canadiens for the first time since they traded him to the Nashville Predators for Shea Weber on June 29, 2016. "It's a game day as usual," said Subban, who noted that he had never seen the visiting team's dressing room at Bell Centre. "I was really confused when I came here today. I didn't even know this room existed, but I guess it's been here for a long time. The stall's the same size as any other stall on the road." Subban was injured and unable to play in the Predators' 2-1 overtime loss to the Canadiens on Jan. 3. "We didn't like our game in Nashville against these guys," captain Mike Fisher said. "We've got to be better tonight. It's a huge game and the building I'm sure will be loud, it's always fun to play here but we know we've got to bring our best. We've got to be better defensively, and we're OK with a 2-1 game, 1-0, if that's what it takes. We expect it to be a good battle tonight."
Canadiens team scope
Left wing Dwight King will be the only one of four newly acquired players to make his Canadiens debut. "In his case, we could use his size and his help on the left side right now," coach Claude Julien said. In addition to King, who was acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, general manager Marc Bergevin made separate trades for defenseman Brandon Davidson (Edmonton Oilers) and forwards Steve Ott (Detroit Red Wings) and Andreas Martinsen (Colorado Avalanche). Defenseman Jordie Benn, traded by the Dallas Stars to Montreal on Monday, will play his second game with the Canadiens but Davidson, Ott and Martinsen will be healthy scratches. "Those guys will be integrated in our lineup as time goes," Julien said, "but I think we're in a position right now where our team has been playing better as of late and so it makes it easier to kind of integrate those guys versus throwing them all in at the same time."
Predators projected lineup
Filip Forsberg -- Ryan Johansen -- Viktor Arvidsson
Kevin Fiala -- Mike Fisher -- Craig Smith
Colin Wilson -- Calle Jarnkrok -- James Neal
Harry Zolnierczyk -- Vernon Fiddler -- Austin Watson
Mattias Ekholm -- P.K. Subban
Scratched: Brad Hunt, Anthony Bitetto, Colton Sissons
Injured: PA Parenteau (finger), Cody McLeod (lower body), Miikka Salomaki (lower body)
Canadiens projected lineup
Max Pacioretty -- Phillip Danault -- Alexander Radulov
Artturi Lehkonen -- Alex Galchenyuk -- Brendan Gallagher
Paul Byron -- Tomas Plekanec -- Andrew Shaw
Dwight King -- Michael McCarron -- Torrey Mitchell
Andrei Markov -- Shea Weber
Nathan Beaulieu -- Jordie Benn
Scratched: Brandon Davidson, Nikita Nesterov, Brian Flynn, Andreas Martinsen, Steve Ott
Injured: None
Status report
Parenteau was acquired from the New Jersey Devils in a trade for a sixth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft on Wednesday. He will join the Predators in Nashville. ... Julien said the new acquisitions give him plenty of options. "It helps us compete against any team," he said. "There's some night where maybe you won't need as much size as another night, and another night you'll need a lot of size, and we've got those options now. And that's where I think [Bergevin] and his crew did a great job of helping this team get better."
Who's hot
Forsberg has 10 goals during a five-game goal streak. He has 13 points during that span, including three assists. Josi has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) during a six-game point streak. Subban has 12 points (one goal, 11 assists) in his past 10 games. Arvidsson has six points (three goals, three assists) during a five-game point streak. ... Pacioretty has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in his past nine games.
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