After collecting their first win of the season, the Nashville Predators are in Chicago to face the Blackhawks tonight at United Center for a 7:30 p.m. CT puck drop. This evening’s contest marks the first of four meetings between the two divisional foes this season; the Preds and Hawks will face each other three more times once the calendar flips to 2025.
The Predators fell in their first five games to start the new campaign, but they earned a 4-0 victory over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena. That result brought a much-needed exhale to the club, and while the effort wasn’t perfect, it provided plenty to build on tonight.
“We’ve got to try to bottle up the energy and the feeling,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said Thursday. “We can ride the wave, and the next line, the next group, takes over and plays. When we play our best, it's territorial, it's kind of in your face, and we have the puck, and I thought [Tuesday’s win], that was a step. Now, this group's never been complacent. We’ve always got to keep building our game, and [tonight’s] another great opportunity.
“We saw what made us successful the other night,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. "I think we played hard for 60 minutes. We were hard on the forecheck, and they didn’t have a lot of time and space. We found our identity a bit on the way we need to play, and now it's about building that. We’ll get better and better each game.”
Predators forward Zachary L’Heureux made his NHL debut on Tuesday night against Boston and was praised by Brunette following the game for his energy and instincts. The Preds practiced on Thursday in Nashville prior to departing for Chicago; all players were present for the session.
Last Time Out:
Nashville’s 4-0 victory over Boston on Tuesday saw Ryan O’Reilly, Tommy Novak, Gustav Nyqust and Luke Evangelista find the back of the net, and goaltender Juuse Saros stopped all 33 shots he faced for Nashville’s first win of the season.
L’Heureux registered one shot on goal and four hits in 9:59 of ice time during his NHL debut.
The Good Guys:
O’Reilly and Filip Forsberg both have two goals and four assists through six games to lead the Preds with six points apiece. Josi has five assists for Nashville, while Jonathan Marchessault and Luke Evangelista each have a goal and three helpers. Novak leads the Preds with three tallies, and Saros is 1-4-0 in net with a .903 save percentage.
The Opposition:
The Blackhawks are 2-4-1 on the season, including a 6-3 loss to Vancouver on Tuesday. Teuvo Teravainen leads Chicago with three goals and seven points; former Preds defenseman Seth Jones (1g-6a) and Connor Bedard (1g-6a) also have seven points to their names. Nick Foligno has three goals for Chicago, while Taylor Hall, Tyler Bertuzzi and former Preds forward Craig Smith have each found the back of the net on two occasions. Goaltender Petr Mrazek is 2-3-0 on the season; Arvid Soderblom is 0-1-1.
All-Time Meetings:
Nashville is 69-51-(4)-12 all-time against Chicago, including a 31-28-(1)-9 record on the road.
The 136 games against the Blackhawks are the most the Predators have played against any franchise. Their 69 wins are tied for the most against any individual franchise (Columbus).
Nashville swept the regular season series last year four games to none, outscoring the Blackhawks 15-6. Chicago was one of three teams the Predators won every regular season game against (San Jose and St. Louis).
The Predators have earned at least a point in 27 of their last 31 games against the Blackhawks (23-4-4), holding Chicago to two-or-fewer goals 26 times in that span.
The Predators are 5-1-0 in their last six games against the Blackhawks; they are 9-1-1 in their last 11; and 8-0-2 in their last 10 on the road.
Notables Versus Chicago:
Gustav Nyquist has tallied 24 points (11g-13a) in 27 career games against the Blackhawks, the most he has recorded against any single franchise in his career.
Ryan O’Reilly has posted 41 points (16g-25a) in 50 career games against Chicago, the fifth-most among active skaters.
Juuse Saros is 12-3-2 with a 1.99 goals-against average, .933 save percentage and two shutouts in 18 career appearances vs. the Blackhawks.
Dante Fabbro (April 6, 2019) and Tommy Novak (Dec. 17, 2021) both scored their first career NHL goals against Chicago.
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 Craig Smith was drafted by the Predators in the fourth round (98th overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft; he played in 661 games for Nashville from 2011-20, recording 330 points (162g-168a).
Milestone Watch:
Luke Schenn is one point from 200 in his NHL career.
Gustav Nyquist is one goal from 200 in his NHL career.
Tommy Novak is two points from 100 in his NHL career.
Watch & Listen:
Tonight’s contest will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu with John Buccigross, AJ Mlezcko and Emily Kaplan on the call.
Voice of the Predators Pete Weber and Hal Gill will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network, with pregame, postgame and intermission coverage by Max Herz beginning one hour before puck drop. The game will also be broadcast in Spanish on El Jefe which airs on 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM. (El partido también se transmite en español por El Jefe en 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM y 810 AM.)
