GAME DAY: Blackhawks vs. Preds, March 8

A two-game homestand concludes tonight as the Nashville Predators host the Chicago Blackhawks at Bridgestone Arena for a 7 p.m. CT puck drop. This evening’s contest is the fourth and final meeting between the division rivals this season; the Preds have a pair of wins in three tries against the Hawks so far.

Nashville has won each of their last two outings - with 11 goals scored over those two games - including a 5-3 victory over Seattle on Thursday night. Now, with the NHL Trade Deadline in the rearview, the Preds will try to push their win streak to three with a continued offensive output.

“For the most part of the year, we haven't been getting rewarded like that,” Preds forward Filip Forsberg said following Thursday’s win. “To see those pucks go in and kind of get a few bounces that go our way and end up in the back from that, it was great. So, hopefully we just keep building and keep doing that. But a lot of that starts from us turning the puck or us getting on them and making them turn the puck over. So that was a huge emphasis today, and we did a great job of that.”

On Friday afternoon, the Preds dealt forward Mark Jankowski to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick (2026) as the NHL Trade Deadline came and went. Jankowski joined forwards Gustav Nyquist and Tommy Novak, as well as defenseman Luke Schenn, as the players Nashville dealt away in recent days.

The Predators did acquire forward Michael Bunting on Wednesday night from Pittsburgh, but he remains on Injured Reserve due to an appendectomy. Nashville also claimed forward Jakub Vrana (Washington) and defenseman Jordan Oesterle (Boston) on waivers on Thursday.

The Preds also recalled forward Kieffer Bellows from Milwaukee (AHL) and reassigned forwards Jake Lucchini and Ozzy Wiesblatt to the Admirals.

Last Time Out:

Forsberg tallied twice, while Brady Skjei, Michael McCarron and Luke Evangelista also found the back of the net against the Kraken. Goaltender Juuse Saros earned the win in net, and rookie forward Ozzy Wiesblatt recorded his first-career point, an assist on McCarron’s goal.

Per NHL Stats, Filip Forsberg (2g) recorded his 48th career multi-goal game and surpassed Kent Nilsson (47) for the fourth-most by a Swedish-born player. The list is topped by Mats Sundin (81), Daniel Alfredsson (64) and Markus Naslund (52).

The Good Guys:

Forsberg continues to lead the Preds with 24 goals and 57 points, followed by Jonathan Marchessault with 19 goals and 47 points. Ryan O’Reilly has 16 goals and 40 points to his name; Steven Stamkos has 18 goals and 38 points on the season. Saros is now 15-25-6 in net; Justus Annunen is 13-9-0 overall.

The Opposition:

The Blackhawks defeated Utah by a 4-3 final in overtime last night in Chicago. Connor Bedard, who scored the OT winner, (17g-34a) leads the team with 51 points, followed by Teuvo Teravainen (15g-35a) with 50 points. Ryan Donato has 23 goals and 47 points on the season. Spencer Knight, acquired earlier this week from Florida, got the win last night and is 14-8-1 overall; Arvid Soderblom is 8-15-6 in net.

All-Time Meetings:

The Predators are 71-52-(4)-12 all-time against Chicago, including a 39-23-(3)-3 mark in Nashville. The Preds are 4-1-0 in their last five against the Hawks at Bridgestone Arena, and they’ve earned at least a point in 29 of their last 34 games against the Blackhawks (25-5-4), holding Chicago to two-or-fewer goals 28 times in that span.

The Predators and Blackhawks have played against each other 139 times - the most the Preds have played against any single franchise.

Notables Versus Chicago:

Filip Forsberg has recorded 28 points (14g-14a) in 37 career games vs. the Blackhawks. The winger scored his 300th career NHL goal on Jan. 16 vs. Chicago.

Ryan O’Reilly has posted 41 points (16g-25a) in 53 career games against Chicago. He is tied for the sixth-most points among active skaters against the Blackhawks (Kopitar – LAK).

Steven Stamkos has scored 18 goals in 30 career games against the Blackhawks, tied for the fifth-most among active skaters.

Juuse Saros is 14-4-2 with a 2.17 goals-against average, .926 save percentage and two shutouts in 21 career appearances vs. the Blackhawks. The 14 wins are the most Saros has recorded against a single franchise.

Milestone Watch:

Steven Stamkos (573) is one goal from passing Mike Bossy (573) for the 23rd-most in NHL history.

Ryan O’Reilly is two goals from 300 in his NHL career.

Juuse Saros is three wins from 200 and three games from 400 in his NHL career.

Colton Sissons is five goals from 100 in his NHL career.

Nick Blankenburg is five games from 100 career NHL games.

Watch & Listen:

Coverage for Saturday night in Smashville begins at 6:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on FanDuel Sports Network South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley and Hal Gill. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic, analyst Chris Mason and rinkside reporter Kara Hammer will have the call on the television side.

Voice of the Predators Pete Weber and Jay More 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.)