GAME DAY: Blackhawks vs. Preds, January 16

Following the 1,000th win in franchise history, the Nashville Predators are back on home ice tonight to host the Chicago Blackhawks for a 7 p.m. CT puck drop at Bridgestone Arena. This evening’s contest is the second of four meetings between the two clubs this season; the Preds beat the Hawks in Chicago back in October.

After starting their five-game homestead with a loss to Washington on Saturday, the Predators responded with a 5-3 victory over Vegas on Tuesday to record the milestone victory. The Preds have continued to play well more often than not as of late, they just haven’t seen the desired results. Now, they’ll look to continue the efforts and try for two more points tonight against Chicago.

“Maybe that's something that we can build off,” Preds forward Jonathan Marchessault said following Tuesday’s win. “We want to start a streak. We want to start piling up some wins, and you do it against the best in the League, I think that's something really positive. And you never know. We cannot look too far, like in two, three weeks, we’ve got to take care of business. The task ahead of us and tomorrow… [is to] wake up, and our task is Chicago on Thursday.”

Nashville’s lineup remained unchanged on Tuesday night from the previous outing.

Prior to this evening’s contest, the Predators will host a special pregame ceremony to honor David Poile, Pekka Rinne and Shea Weber - the inaugural class of the Predators Golden Hall - with a presentation and puck drop.

Last Time Out:

Steven Stamkos tallied twice, while Filip Forsberg, Justin Barron and Ryan O’Reilly also found the back of the net in Nashville’s 5-3 win over Vegas. Barron’s goal was his first as a member of the Preds, and Marchessault added an assist in his first game against his former team. Forsberg now has goals in three-straight outings, and Stamkos recorded three points in his 99th career multi-goal game.

The Good Guys:

Forsberg continues to lead the Preds with 37 points (12g-25a), followed by Marchessault (14g-18a) with 32 points and Roman Josi (8g-21a) with 29 points. Stamkos now has 14 goals and 28 points while O’Reilly has 13 goals and 26 points. Justus Annunen, who got the win on Tuesday, is 10-6-0 in net this season; Juuse Saros has a 9-18-6 record.

The Opposition:

The Blackhawks have lost their last three appearances, including a 5-2 loss on Monday against Calgary. Connor Bedard (12g-27a) leads the club with 39 points, followed by Teuvo Teravainen (10g-21a) with 31 points and Ryan Donato (13g-11a) with 24 points. Petr Mrazek is 8-16-1 in net; Arvid Soderblom is 6-11-1.

All-Time Meetings:

Nashville is 70-51-(4)-12 all-time against Chicago, including a 38-23-(3)-3 record at Bridgestone Arena.

The 137 games against the Blackhawks are the most the Predators have played against any franchise. Their 70 wins are tied for the most against any individual franchise (Columbus).

The Predators went 7-0-1 vs. the Blackhawks in 2020-21, their most wins against Chicago in a single season in team history. Nashville outscored Chicago 25-14, allowing two-or-fewer goals in seven of those contests. The team’s seven wins against Chicago in 2020-21 were its most vs. a single opponent in a season since 2007-08 (seven vs. Columbus).

The Predators have earned at least a point in 28 of their last 32 games against the Blackhawks (24-4-4), holding Chicago to two-or-fewer goals 27 times in that span.

The Predators are 5-0-0 in their last five games against the Blackhawks; they are 9-1-0 in their last 10; and 8-2-0 in their last 10 at Bridgestone Arena.

Notables Versus Chicago:

Gustav Nyquist has tallied 26 points (12g-14a) in 28 career games against the Blackhawks; it is the most points he has recorded against any single franchise in his career, tied for the most goals and tied for the second most assists. In his past nine times suiting up against Chicago, he has tallied 13 points (7g-6a).

Filip Forsberg has recorded 27 points (13g-14a) in 35 career games vs. the Blackhawks. It is the fifth-most points he has against any single franchise in his career. The winger is currently on a five-game point streak (4g-3a-7pts) against Chicago, including a hat trick on April 12, 2024.

Ryan O’Reilly has posted 41 points (16g-25a) in 51 career games against Chicago. He is tied for the fifth-most points among active skaters against the Blackhawks (Kopitar – LAK).

Steven Stamkos has scored 17 goals in 29 career games against the Blackhawks, tied for the seventh-most among active skaters.

Juuse Saros is 13-3-2 with a 1.99 goals-against average, .933 save percentage and two shutouts in 19 career appearances vs. the Blackhawks.

Milestone Watch:

Filip Forsberg is one goal from 300 in his NHL career and is one power-play goal (80) from passing Shea Weber (80) for the most in Predators history.

Vinnie Hinostroza is two assists from 100 in his NHL career.

Ryan O’Reilly is three points from 800 and five goals from 300 in his NHL career.

Steven Stamkos is four assists from 600 in his career.

Watch & Listen:

Coverage for tonight’s game 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 Chase McCabe 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.)