WILD GAMEDAY

at Nashville Predators, 7 p.m. Thursday, Bridgestone Arena

TV; radio: BSN Extra; 100.3 FM

Stats and analytics: Tap here.

Pregame reading: Dean Evason, fired as Wild coach Monday, talked about his dismissal and the team in this interview Wednesday.

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Sarah McLellan's preview:

Opening bell: The Wild should be well-prepared to play the Predators. Their new coach, John Hynes, was behind Nashville's bench just last season. LW Filip Forsberg and D Roman Josi are still tone-setters for the Predators (11-10), as is G Juuse Saros, and C Ryan O'Reilly has been a seamless addition. As for the Wild (6-10-4), another win would give them two in a row for only the second time this season.

Watch him: Forsberg is one of the NHL's most dynamic wingers, and he's unsurprisingly leading the Predators' offense. Not only are his goals (12), assists (15) and points (27) tops on the team, but he's scored at almost a point-per-game pace in his career against the Wild (29 points in 30 games).

Injuries: Predators C Cody Glass (upper body) and C Tommy Novak (upper body). Novak, a former Gophers center, has six goals and six assists this season.

Forecast: After their victory Tuesday halted their losing skid at seven games, the Wild aren't expected to make any lineup changes vs. the Predators. (C Ryan Hartman has one game left to serve on his suspension for tripping.) Historically, the Wild haven't had a ton of success in Nashville; they've won just 14 of their 43 all-time visits. But maybe the momentum from their performance in Hynes' debut will change that.

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