Game Day: Blackhawks vs. Preds Preview

Another back-to-back weekend has arrived for the Nashville Predators, and it begins today against the Chicago Blackhawks with a special 11:30 a.m. CT puck drop at Bridgestone Arena. This is the fourth and final meeting between Nashville and Chicago this season; it's the second of two at home.
The Preds weren't pleased with their effort on Thursday in a 4-0 loss to Edmonton, and with the Western Conference playoff race tighter than ever, Nashville is eager to move on and shift their focus to facing the Blackhawks.

"You mentally get ready for the next game," Preds forward Matt Duchene said Friday morning. "We understand that we take it for what it is, and we're all human. It's a grind right now, so we flush that one last night and you move forward… It's like a playoff game. If you lose a playoff game, you can't linger on it. You can't expend any energy on what's happened, you just move forward."
"We've been a very resilient group all year long," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said Friday. "You can't get too high or too low after a big win or a bad loss. I think the later the season gets the more emotional wins get and the more emotional losses could get. It's also the second phrase we use all the time with our guys is controlling what we can control. Now, we can't control what happened last night. What's done is done. I think it's important to come in, and we need to move past that game and to take some lessons out of it. The most important thing now is moving on and how we can be a better team against Chicago."
Preds defenseman Mark Borowiecki (upper-body) and forward Matt Luff (non-COVID illness) both missed Thursday's game and are day-to-day. Defensemen Ben Harpur and Jeremy Davies were also scratched. The Preds held team meetings and off-ice workouts on Friday in advance of this morning's start.

The Good Guys:

The Preds were not able to find the back of the net Thursday evening versus the Oilers as they were shutout for just the third time this season. Goaltender Juuse Saros got the start and made 28 saves, but ended up taking his 23rd loss on the season.
Preds Captain Roman Josi continues to lead NHL defensemen and is 12th in the NHL in points this season with 87 (19g-68a). With his three-point effort on April 7 at Ottawa, he broke the franchise record for points in a season, previously held by Paul Kariya in 2005-06 (85).
Josi continues paces his club in points with 87 (19g-68a), followed by Duchene with 75 (38g-37a) and Filip Forsberg with 72 (38g-34a). Ryan Johansen has 57 (23g-34a), Mikael Granlund has 53 (9g-44a) and Tanner Jeannot has 41 (24g-17a). Saros is now 36-23-3 in net; netminder David Rittich is 5-3-2.

The Opposition:

The Blackhawks snapped an eight-game losing streak by defeating the San Jose Sharks by a 5-4 final in a shootout on Thursday evening. Patrick Kane leads his club in points with 86 (24g-62a), followed by Alex Debrincat with 70 (39g-31a) and Seth Jones with 49 (5g-44a). Goaltender Kevin Lankinen is 5-12-6 in net; netminder Collin Delia is 1-3-0.

All-Time Meetings:

Nashville is 2-0-1 against Chicago in 2021-22, claiming victories in each of the last two games. The Predators are 3-0-2 in their last five games vs. the Blackhawks; they are 8-0-2 in their last 10; and 5-0-0 in their last five at Bridgestone Arena. The Predators are 62-50-(4)-12 all-time against the Blackhawks, including a 35-22-(3)-3 record at Bridgestone Arena.
Nashville is currently on a 13-game point streak against Chicago (10-0-3). 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 out-scored Chicago 25-14 last season, 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); it also was the fifth time in Preds history they won at least seven games against an opponent in a single season.
This will be the 129th time the Predators and Blackhawks clash in the regular season, Nashville's most games played against a single opponent.

Notables Versus Chicago:

Granlund has 30 points (8g-22a) in 41 career contests vs. the Blackhawks. Mattias Ekholm has two goals and 11 assists in his last 19 games vs. the Blackhawks. He's recorded 19 points (3g-16a) and a +22 rating in 38 career games against Chicago.
Johansen has 28 points (8g-20a), including seven multi-point games, in 43 career regular-season meetings with the Blackhawks. Luke Kunin posted eight points (4g-4a) in eight games against Chicago in the 2020-21 season. Saros is 7-2-2 with a 2.07 goals-against average, .932 save percentage and one shutout in 12 career appearances vs. the Blackhawks.
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).

Watch & Listen:

Coverage for today's 11:30 a.m. CT puck drop from Nashville begins at 11 a.m. CT with the Predators Live! pregame show on Bally Sports South hosted by Lyndsay Rowley and Terry Crisp. Willy Daunic, Chris Mason and Kara Hammer have the call on the television side, while Pete Weber and Hal Gill will broadcast on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network. Pregame coverage on the radio begins at 10:30 a.m. with Darren McFarland.