The Nashville Predators will have some of their biggest fans in the building when they face the Dallas Stars tonight for a 7 p.m. CT puck drop at American Airlines Center. This evening’s contest is the third and final meeting between the division rivals this season; the Preds have dropped a pair of one-goal games to the Stars thus far.
After a 4-2 victory over Chicago on Thursday night to return from the Olympic break, the Predators are hosting their moms trip tonight in Texas, and they’ll be looking to collect two very important points in the process.
“This group has been really tight,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said following Thursday’s win. “It’s been fun to be around them. They don't give up. Another example again tonight. They believe in themselves. They know they can come back. We don't want to be coming back all the time. I keep saying this is a broken record, but we know and we believe we can now. We’ve got another tough game going and a hard road game, so we're day-to-day here, but we're fighting.”
“It's just such a different feel with the moms trip compared to a dads trip,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “I remember winning the game [in 2018], and the moms were yelling and screaming and cheering… The dads are like, ‘Hey, good job.’ Everybody's excited too, but it's just different emotions with the moms, which is pretty cool. And it’s well deserved. I have kids now and family, and I see what the moms do. It's incredible. So, they deserve a moms trip.”
The Predators practiced on Friday in Nashville before departing for Dallas. Preds forward Zach L’Heureux made his season debut on Thursday night and logged three hits in 9:45 of ice time.
The Good Guys:
Filip Forsberg, Matthew Wood, Ryan O’Reilly and Steven Stamkos all tallied against the Blackhawks, while Justus Annunen got the win in net.
Per NHL PR, Filip Forsberg hit the 25-goal mark for the ninth time in his career and passed Markus Naslund and Daniel Alfredsson (both with eight) for the second-most by a Swedish-born player in NHL history. Only Mats Sundin (15) has more.
Steven Stamkos scored his 611th career goal and passed Bobby Hull for sole possession of 19th place on the NHL’s all-time goals list.
O’Reilly has 21 goals and continues to lead the Preds with 57 points, followed by Forsberg (25g-23a) with 48 points and Stamkos (29g-16a) with 45 points. Luke Evangelista has 34 assists and 42 points; Roman Josi has 11 goals and 40 points. Juuse Saros is 21-17-5 in net; Annunen is 6-7-2 overall.
The Opposition:
The Stars have won seven-straight games, including a 4-1 victory over Seattle on Thursday as they returned from the Olympic break. Mikko Rantanen leads the club with 69 points, but he suffered an injury while playing for Finland at the Olympics. Jason Robertson has 32 goals and 66 points on the season, while Wyatt Johnston has 31 goals and 61 points. Goaltender Jake Oettinger is 23-10-4 overall; Casey DeSmith is 12-4-5.
All-Time Meetings:
The Preds are 52-56-(1)-5 all-time against the Stars, including a 20-32-(0)-3 mark on the road. Nashville is 4-6-0 in the last 10 meetings versus Dallas but 3-2-0 in the last five at American Airlines Center.
Nashville Notables:
The Predators enter Saturday’s game with a 19-11-3 record (41 points) in their last 33 games dating back to Dec. 1. In that span, Nashville’s 19 wins are the third-most in the Western Conference, trailing only Minnesota (21) and Colorado (20).
Nashville’s special teams ranked among the NHL’s best, the Predators’ penalty kill on home ice is fifth in the League at 83.2 percent, and the team has scored a power-play goal in 10 of its last 14 games (13-for-41).
The 2025-26 campaign marks the fourth time in franchise history the club has had at least five 40-point players prior to their 60th contest. The others: 2021-22 (5), 2006-07 (6) and 2005-06 (5).
Milestone Watch:
Jonathan Marchessault is one assist from 300 in his NHL career.
Brady Skjei is three points from 300 in his NHL career.
Andrew Brunette is three games from 300 as a head coach in his NHL career.
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for this evening’s contest begins at 6:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on FanDuel Sports Network South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic and Chris Mason will have the call on the television side. The game may also be viewed on NewsChannel 5 in Nashville. Voice of the Preds Pete Weber and Hal Gill will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network.
