The Nashville Predators travel to Colorado on Thursday night to take on the Avalanche, with two familiar faces taking the ice in new colors against their former team.
Jack Drury and Ross Colton, both recent members of the Preds’ third line, joined Nashville from Colorado in the offseason.
In the second of four regular-season meetings, the two get a chance to play against their former teammates as they hope to help Nashville earn its third straight win.
Colton and Drury Return to Colorado
Colton and Drury were teammates in Colorado last season, but now, just a year later, they will take the ice together against their former team.
Spending three seasons with the Avalanche, Colton tallied 93 points while playing alongside stars like Nathan MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen.
Since joining the Preds, Colton has tallied six points through 15 games while skating on the third line with Drury and Adam Edstrom.
Drury spent 1.5 seasons with the Avs after being traded from Carolina before the 2024-25 deadline, eventually joining the Predators.
With the Preds, he is averaging a career-high 17:07 of ice time per game while bringing a spark to Nashville’s offense.
Predators vs. Avalanche Matchup
Thursday night’s game isn’t just a reunion; it marks another tough battle for the Preds in the Central Division, where they sit just two points behind Colorado.
A regulation win would allow the Preds to move ahead of a Stanley Cup favorite Avalanche in the standings, while improving their head-to-head record to 2-0 this season.
Winning will not come easy for the Preds, however, as they travel to Denver for a prime-time matchup against an opponent they defeated by four goals just 11 days ago.
Riding a two-game winning streak, the Preds hope to carry their momentum into Colorado and take down the Avs, who are coming off a loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.
Preds’ Projected Lineup
Unless Jonathan Marchessault is cleared to return Thursday night, the Preds will likely stick with the lineup from Tuesday night’s win over the Canes.
This will give the Preds another chance to see recently acquired Shane Wright play on the second line alongside Forsberg in his second start as a Pred.
Juuse Saros remains the expected starting goaltender, but head coach Andrew Brunette could continue giving Justus Annunen starts after he helped lead Nashville to a win over the Avalanche earlier this season.
Steven Stamkos – Ryan O’Reilly – Mavrik Bourque
Filip Forsberg – Shane Wright – Nils Hoglander
Ross Colton – Jack Drury – Adam Edstrom
Reid Schaefer – Alexander Kerfoot – Vitali Pinchuk
Roman Josi – Adam Wilsby
Brady Skjei – Nick Perbix
Daemon Hunt – Jayden Struble
Juuse Saros
Justus Annunen
Scratch: Nicolas Hague, Ilya Lyubushkin
Injured: William Trudeau (out), Jonathan Marchessault (day-to-day)
The Preds will look to make it three straight wins and pick up another important divisional victory when the puck drops at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Two Predators Return to Familiar Territory for Thursday Night’s Game in Colorado