Game Day: Predators at Blackhawks Preview

After collecting four out of a possible six points in Western Canada, the Nashville Predators are back on the American side of the border, and they'll face the Blackhawks at the United Center this evening in Chicago (6 p.m. CT). Tonight marks the first of four meetings between the divisional foes this season after facing each other eight times during the shortened campaign in 2021.
The Predators saw their four-game win streak halted on Wednesday night in Edmonton, but they bounced back on Friday with a 3-2 victory over the Canucks in Vancouver. Special teams were the difference in the latest outing - Nashville scored two goals on the power play and went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill - and goaltender Juuse Saros made 26 saves on the night.

"It wasn't the most beautiful game probably, but we found a way to win, and we have the one guy in the net who keeps making these saves and keeping us in the game," Preds forward Mikael Granlund said Friday night. "It's a big road win for us."
The Blackhawks didn't play on Saturday, but they were busy as the organization relieved now-former Head Coach Jeremy Colliton, as well as two assistants, of their duties. Derek King, who had been coaching Chicago's AHL affiliate, will take over as interim head coach.
The Preds were without forward Filip Forsberg (upper-body, week-to-week) and defenseman Mark Borowiecki (upper-body, day-to-day) for the second-straight game on Friday. Nashville made two swaps up front against the Canucks as Nick Cousins joined Ryan Johansen and Rocco Grimaldi on a line, while Eeli Tolvanen skated on the wing with Tommy Novak and Philip Tomasino.

The Good Guys:

Roman Josi and Tomasino each tallied on the power play for Nashville on Friday, and Matt Duchene scored for the third time in the last four games to help the Preds to that 3-2 win over the Canucks.
Josi continues to lead the club in scoring with 12 points (4g-8a), followed by Duchene (5g-5a) and Granlund (2g-8a) with 10 points apiece. Johansen has eight points (4g-4a), and Tanner Jeannot has also found the back of the net on four occasions. Saros is now 5-4-0 on the season with a .923 save percentage for Nashville.

The Opposition:

The Blackhawks have just one win through 12 games on the season, a 5-1 victory over Ottawa last Monday. Since then, Chicago has lost two more contests, including a 5-1 defeat in Winnipeg on Friday night. Patrick Kane leads the team with 11 points (5g-6a), and former Preds defenseman Seth Jones has 10 helpers on the season. Alex DeBrincat has six goals for Chicago, while Dominik Kubalik, Brandon Hagel and Kirby Dach have three goals apiece. Marc-Andre Fleury is 1-7-0 in net for the Hawks with an .881 save percentage.

All-Time Meetings:

The Predators are 60-50-(4)-11 all-time against the Blackhawks, including a 26-28-(1)-8 record on the road. Nashville and Chicago last met on April 23, 2021, a 3-1 victory on the road for the Predators.
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 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.
The Preds have earned at least a point in 17 of their last 20 games against the Blackhawks (14-3-3), holding Chicago to two-or-fewer goals 17 times in that span. Nashville is currently on a 10-game point streak against Chicago (8-0-2).
This will be the 126th time the Predators and Blackhawks clash in the regular season, Nashville's most games played against a single opponent.

Notables Versus Chicago:

Mikael Granlund has 30 points (8g-22a) in 39 career contests vs. the Blackhawks. Mattias Ekholm has two goals and eight assists in his last 16 games vs. the Blackhawks. He's recorded 16 points (3g-13a) and a +21 rating in 35 career games against Chicago.
Ryan Johansen has 26 points (7g-19a), including six multi-point games, in 41 career regular-season meetings with the Blackhawks. Luke Kunin posted eight points (4g-4a) in eight games against Chicago in the 2020-21 season.

Watch & Listen:

Coverage for this evening's 6 p.m. CT puck drop from Chicago begins at 5:30 p.m. CT with the Predators Live! pregame show on Bally Sports South. Willy Daunic, Chris Mason and Lyndsay Rowley 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 5 p.m. with Darren McFarland. For broadcast information and channel locations throughout the country,
click here
.