Nashville is finishing up a season-opening four-game homestand on Thursday. The Preds have taken two out of three on the homestand to date, earning wins over Minnesota and San Jose, respectively, sandwiched around a loss to Detroit.
The Preds have made the playoffs in each of the last five seasons, and they finished second in the competitive Central Division last season, reaching triple digit point totals for the seventh time in franchise history and the second straight season.
Like the Caps, Nashville bowed out in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last spring, losing a six-game set to Dallas. The Preds exited in the second round in 2018, following a franchise record 117-point season and the only Presidents' Trophy season in franchise history. The Predators made their first - and thus far only - trip to the Cup Final in 2017, losing a six-game set to Pittsburgh.
Over the summer, the Preds swapped defenseman P.K. Subban to New Jersey and also lost veteran forward Wayne Simmonds to the Devils via free agency. But Nashville inked top six center Matt Duchene, and the Preds are rotating their stock on defense by bringing Dante Fabbro into the mix this season.
The 21-year-old Fabbro was the Preds' first-round pick (17th overall) in the 2016 NHL Draft. After three seasons at Boston University, Fabbro signed with the Preds last spring and got into four late-season games with Nashville, picking up his first NHL goal in the process. He has a goal in three games this season while averaging just over 19 minutes a night, skating the right side of a pairing with Mattias Ekholm.