Game Day: Preds at Blackhawks Preview

Fresh off a 4-3 overtime defeat of the Edmonton Oilers on Monday, the Nashville Predators (13-13-4) will look to keep the momentum going as they face the Chicago Blackhawks Wednesday at United Center.
The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on Bally Sports South, 102.5 The Game and El Jefe Radio. Here's everything you need to know:

Line 'Em Up

Below are Nashville's lines from Monday's game vs. Edmonton:
Forsberg - Novak - Granlund
Niederreiter - Glass - Jeannot
Smith - Johansen - Duchene
Trenin - Parssinen - Sissons
Josi - Gross
Ekholm - Fabbro
Lauzon - Carrier
Saros

The Good Guys

• The Predators have allowed 2.69 goals-against per game since Nov. 12, the ninth-best mark in the League.
• Roman Josi has 22 points (6g-16a) in his last 22 games after recording two assists on Tuesday vs. Edmonton. Josi is inching closer to passing David Legwand for the most points in franchise history. Josi (565) needs one more point to tie Legwand (566) and two to pass him. Since Oct. 27, Josi is tied for fifth among NHL defensemen in goals (6); tied for sixth in points (22); and tied for ninth in assists (16).
• Filip Forsberg (483) passed Martin Erat (481) and moved into sole possession of third place on the Predators' all-time points list on Nov. 8 at Seattle. After scoring on Thursday at Winnipeg, he leads Nashville in points with 25 (9g-16a) and has five multi-point outings in his last 20 games. Forsberg has 22 points (7g-15a) in his last 21 games dating back to Oct. 22 vs. Philadelphia.
• Goaltender Juuse Saros is 7-3-3 with a 2.41 goals-against average and .924 save percentage in his last 12 games dating back to Nov. 12. He's made at least 30 saves in seven of his last 13 games; he's faced at least 30 shots in nine of those outings.

The Other Guys

The Blackhawks (7-19-4) enter Wednesday's game on a seven-game losing streak, with their last win coming on Dec. 3 against the New York Rangers. They have lost 15 of their last 16 contests dating back to Nov. 14.
Patrick Kane leads the Blackhawks with 22 points (4g-18a), while Max Domi has scored a team-high 10 goals (10g-10a). Chicago is currently ranked last in the league in goals per game with 2.27.

All-Time Meetings

The Predators are 63-50-(4)-12 all-time against the Blackhawks, including a 27-28-(1)-9 record on the road. This is the first of three matchups between Nashville and Chicago in 2022-23; it is the first of two at the United Center.
Nashville went 3-0-1 against Chicago last season, including a 1-0-1 record on the road, with the most recent coming on Dec. 17, a 3-2 OT victory.
The Predators have earned at least a point in 21 of their last 24 games against the Blackhawks (17-3-4), holding Chicago to two-or-fewer goals 20 times in that span. Nashville is currently on a 14-game point streak against Chicago (11-0-3), its longest active point streak against a single opponent. This will also be the 130th time the Predators and Blackhawks clash in the regular season, Nashville's most games played against a single opponent.

Notables vs. Chicago

• Mikael Granlund has 32 points (9g-23a) in 42 career contests vs. the Blackhawks.
• Mattias Ekholm has two goals and 12 assists in his last 20 games vs. the Blackhawks. He has recorded 20 points (3g-17a) and a +22 rating in 39 career games against Chicago.
• Ryan Johansen has 29 points (8g-21a), including seven multi-point games, in 44 career regular-season meetings with the Blackhawks.
• Saros is 8-2-2 with a 2.14 goals-against average, .930 save percentage and one shutout in 13 career appearances vs. the Blackhawks.
• Kevin Lankinen played the first 69 games of his NHL career with Chicago from 2020-22. He went 25-29-11 and posted a 3.23 goals-against average and .901 save percentage for the Blackhawks.
• Dante Fabbro scored his first career NHL goal on April 6, 2019 vs. Chicago (Cam Ward).
• Predators prospect Ryan Ufko won the USHL's Clark Cup with the Chicago Steel in 2020-21.
• Predators prospect Spencer Stastney is a product of the Chicago Mission youth hockey program.
• Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones was drafted fourth overall by the Predators in 2013; he skated in 199 games for Nashville from 2013-16, tallying 63 points (15g-48a).
• Chicago forward Colin Blackwell made his NHL debut with Nashville in 2018-19 and skated in 33 total games with the Predators, recording 10 points (3g-7a).
• Blackhawks defenseman Jarred Tinordi played in 35 games with the Predators from 2019-21.

Last Time Out

Nashville improved to 8-5-2 at home in 2022-23 with Monday's OT win over Edmonton. The win snapped Nashville's six-game losing streak (0-4-2), and the Predators concluded their three-game regular-season series against Edmonton with a 1-2-0 record. Nashville improved to 5-4 in overtime/shootouts this season (3-3 in OT; 2-1 in shootout), as Alexandre Carrier scored his first career OT goal in his first game since Dec. 10 vs. Ottawa.
Matt Duchene ended Nashville's 0-for-21 slide on the power play with his second-period goal. Cody Glass (2a) recorded the third multi-point game of his NHL career and first since Feb. 9, 2021 vs. Anaheim (2a). Ekholm scored 4:35 into the game and led Nashville in shots (5), and Tommy Novak assisted on Ekholm's goal in his season debut.

Watch & Listen

Coverage for Monday's game begins at 7 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on Bally Sports South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic and analyst Chris Mason will have the call on the television side.
Max Herz and Hal Gill will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network with pregame, postgame and intermission coverage by Pete Weber. The game will also be broadcast in Spanish on El Jefe which airs on 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM.