The Nashville Predators are back in the Music City and will take on the Buffalo Sabres tonight at Bridgestone Arena.
Nashville will also host Phoenix on the modest homestand and is 4-3-3 in its friendly confines this season. It has won two of three games since a four-game losing streak and recorded a 6-5 win at Vancouver on Thursday in the finale of a five-game road trip (2-3).
Mike Fisher scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner with 1:16 remaining in regulation, while Colin Wilson added a goal and two assists for the Predators, who received 13 saves from Pekka Rinne and 19 more out of backup goaltender Anders Lindback.
"In the end it was good goaltending and some timely goals. That was it," said Nashville coach Barry Trotz. "We'll get out of here very, very quiet because we didn't deserve to win."
The Predators had a busy day scoring on Vancouver after registering only five goals through their previous four contests. Fisher has posted three goals and five assists in nine games dating back to Nov. 15 against Washington.
Buffalo hopes to get back on track tonight and has dropped two straight and five of its last six games. In Friday's 4-1 setback versus red-hot Detroit in the finale of a three-game homestand, Jochen Hecht scored the only goal and Jhonas Enroth turned aside 32 of the 35 shots he faced.
"They cashed in on the opportunities they got," said Jason Pominville, who assisted on Hecht's tally. "But it falls on us to make sure we put ours away. We have to be better in that aspect because it's happened the last couple games."
Buffalo forward Nathan Gerbe left the game in the third period and did not return after being accidentally clipped by the skate of teammate Paul Gaustad. He is questionable for Saturday's game. Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller was activated last night, having been out because of a concussion suffered against Boston on Nov. 12, and could see action against the Predators. Miller is closing in on the franchise record for wins, needing nine more for 244.
The Sabres are 7-3-0 away from home and four points off the lead in the Northeast Division. They will return to First Niagara Center after tonight's game for a five-game residency versus Philadelphia, Florida, the New York Rangers, Ottawa and Toronto.
Hecht is on a three-game goal streak and has never scored in four straight games in his career. The Sabres are 2-3-0 in the first game of a back-to-back and 4-0-0 in the second.
Buffalo and Nashville are meeting for the only time this season. The Predators took last year's matchup by a 4-3 score in overtime on March 20. The Sabres are 4-4-2 in the past 10 encounters with Nashville, going 5-2-0 as the guest.
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