Nashville's Smashville nickname predates one of its most famous traditions: fans throwing catfish onto the ice during playoff runs, a superstition born in 2003 that echoes Detroit's octopus toss. The Predators' defense-first identity took shape under longtime captain Shea Weber and goaltender Pekka Rinne, who anchored a run to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final. Broadway's honky-tonk energy now doubles as game-day tradition at Bridgestone Arena.
As of Nov 3, 2026, here are the most recently projected forward lines, defense pairings and power-play units for the Nashville Predators. On the top line, the Nashville Predators are currently projected to run left wing Steven Stamkos, center Ryan O'Reilly and right wing Mavrik Bourque together, a trio expected to log the heaviest 5-on-5 minutes on the roster, though without last change on the road it does not always draw the other team's top shutdown pairing. On the blue line, the top pairing is Roman Josi and Adam Wilsby, who typically log the heaviest 5-on-5 minutes on the back end and face the toughest zone starts, though the team's primary penalty-kill pairing is not always the same duo. On the power play, the PP1 unit runs Filip Forsberg, Ryan O'Reilly, Jonathan Marchessault, Steven Stamkos and Roman Josi, the unit most teams send out first on a power play, though a delayed-penalty scramble already in progress or a late matchup change can put a different five over the boards. These combinations reflect pre-game reporting rather than real-time tracking, and can change between games and even between periods, so check the today's lines tool for the most current deployment before puck drop.
| # | Player | Off | Def | PP | PK | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Filip Forsberg | 68 | 37 | 74 | 0 | 93 |
| 2 | Roman Josi | 76 | 43 | 83 | 62 | 93 |
| 3 | Mattias Ekholm | 93 | 58 | 52 | 48 | 91 |
| 4 | Matt Duchene | 54 | 32 | 80 | 0 | 85 |
| 5 | Mark Jankowski | 53 | 76 | 0 | 60 | 71 |
As of Nov 3, 2026, the most recently projected lineup for the Nashville Predators includes 4 forward lines, 3 defense pairings and 2 power-play units, updated whenever a new pre-game lineup is reported.
As of Nov 3, 2026, the top line projected for the Nashville Predators is left wing Steven Stamkos, center Ryan O'Reilly and right wing Mavrik Bourque.
These projected lines are drawn from Daily Faceoff's pre-game reporting, typically beat writers covering morning skates and warmups before puck drop. They reflect the coaching staff's intended deployment rather than shift-by-shift tracking collected once a game is already underway, and can still shift between a morning skate and the opening faceoff.
Lines can change from game to game, and sometimes within a single game, as a coaching staff reacts to matchups, injuries, scoring droughts or chemistry. Check back before each Nashville Predators game for the latest projected combinations, or browse the historical lines archive to see how often this team's lines have shifted recently.
