The Nashville Predators (4-7-1) begin a back-to-back series on the road tonight when they take on the Capitals (8-3-0) in Washington, DC for a faceoff at 6 p.m. CT. Tonight’s competition is the first of two meetings between the clubs this season; they will meet in Nashville in January.

After scoring points in five of six games (4-1-1), the Preds will look to bounce back tonight from a 3-0 loss to Los Angeles on Monday, an outing in which Nashville recorded just 16 shots on goal. That effort left the Predators frustrated with their lack of opportunities to find the back of the net, and with seven of their next eight games away from Bridgestone Arena, they hope to find success in the bases on the road.

“I hope we simplify our game,” Preds head coach Andrew Brunette said after Tuesday’s practice. “(Monday) we went into the slot a few times and we’re looking to find the prettiest play. Hopefully on the road we’re not trying to put on a show for anyone and just focus on hockey and try to focus on our game. I always thought it was a little more easy on the road, because you’re just trying to survive on the road. Sometimes back home here you put pressure on yourself, or you want to put on a show for people, so you hit the road and just try to get to your game.

Nashville’s lineup has remained unchanged for the past two games; Forwards Philip Tomasino and Michael McCarron, along with defenseman Dante Fabbro, were scratched in Monday’s loss.

The good guys:

Filip Forsberg leads the Preds with six goals and 10 points in 12 games, followed by Ryan O’Reilly (3g-6a) with nine points. Gustav Nyquist (4g-3a), Jonathan Marchessault (2g-5a) and Roman Josi (1g-6a) total seven points each, while Brady Skjei has two goals and six points from the blue line. Juuse Saros is now 3-6-0 this season; Scott Wedgewood is 1-1-0.

The opposition:

The Capitals had won three games in a row before losing Sunday to the Carolina Hurricanes by a score of 4-2. Dylan Strome (4g-13a) leads Washington with 17 points, followed by Alex Ovechkin (7g-7a) with 14 points. Connor McMichael has seven goals and 12 points this season; Tom Wilson found the net six times. Goaltender Logan Thompson is 5-0-0 in net for the Caps; Charlie Lindgren is 3-3-0.

All-time meetings:

Nashville is 20-12-(1)-4 all-time against Washington, including 9-7-(0)-2 on the road.

The Predators are 3-2-0 in their last five games against the Capitals; they are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games; and 4-1-0 in their last five games at Capital One Arena.

Nashville won eight straight games against Washington from February 25, 2017 to January. 29, 2020.

Notables against Washington:

Steven Stamkos has 18 goals against the Capitals in his career, tied for seventh among all active skaters in the league. The game will feature two of the NHL’s top three active scorers, Stamkos (557) and Alex Ovechkin (860).

Filip Forsberg has 17 points (8g-9a) in 17 career games against the team that selected him 11th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Forsberg was acquired from Washington for Martin Erat and Michael Latta on April 3, 2013.

General manager Barry Trotz won the 2018 Stanley Cup as head coach of the Capitals. He spent four seasons with Washington from 2014 to 2018, going 205-89-34 in 328 games as head coach.

Senior advisor David Poile spent his first 15 years as an NHL general manager leading the Capitals from 1982 to 1997.

Head coach Andrew Brunette was selected by Washington – with Poile as general manager – in the seventh round (174th overall) of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. He played the first three seasons of his NHL career with the Capitals, recording 40 points (18g-22a) in 62 games from 1995 to 1998.

Milestone Monitoring:

Luke Schenn is one point shy of 200 in his NHL career.

Tommy Novak has one point per 100 in his NHL career.

Steven Stamkos (216) is two goals back on the power play after passing Mike Gartner and Jaromir Jagr (217) for the 11th-most total in NHL history.

Filip Forsberg (77) is four power play goals behind passing Shea Weber (80), the most goals in Predators history.

Gustav Nyquist is four games shy of 800 in his NHL career.

Ryan O’Reilly has five assists out of 500 in his NHL career.

Watch and listen:

Coverage of tonight’s game begins at 5:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on FanDuel Sports Network South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic and analyst Chris Mason will have the call on the television side.

Max Herz and Hal Gill will announce the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network. The match will also be broadcast in Spanish on El Jefe, broadcast on 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM. (The party is also broadcast in Spanish by El Jefe on 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM.)