Josh Cooper. 

Ser­gei Kos­titsyn puts a lot of pride in his defense. Don't laugh, it's true. When asked what he likes more, sco­ring or making a defen­sive play that pre­vents a goal, Kos­titsyn loo­ked at both the same.

"Both is good for the team," Kos­titsyn said. "If you make a goal on offense or play well on defense, both help the team."

That's why the Pre­da­tors have used the for­ward in all situa­tions, offen­sive, defen­sive, penalty kill and power play this sea­son. In Nashville's last game, a 3-1 win over New Jer­sey, the Pre­da­tors pla­yed Kos­titsyn a season-high 18 minutes.

During his eight game point streak, where he has amas­sed 10 points, Kos­titsyn is a plus-8.

"I’m a lot more happy with Sergei’s game in terms of both sides of the puck," Nash­vi­lle Coach Barry Trotz said. "I got him thin­king res­pon­sibly on both sides of the puck so the­re­fore he has the puck more."