The final three-game homestand of the regular season has arrived for the Nashville Predators, and it begins this afternoon when they host the Minnesota Wild for a 4 p.m. CT puck drop at Bridgestone Arena. Today’s contest comes as the Preds continue their playoff push with less than a week to go in the 2025-26 campaign.
The Predators had a successful trip out West collecting seven out of a possible 10 points (3-1-1) over the past 10 days, but a regulation loss in Utah on Thursday night to finish the journey saw their postseason odds lessened with the result.
Now, with just three games to go, Nashville will need to find success at home to keep those playoff hopes intact.
“We’ve got to get the next one,” Preds Alternate Captain Ryan O’Reilly said following Thursday’s loss. “That's just the most important game of the year. This one, obviously we're upset about, but we don't have time to dwell on it. We have to make the adjustments, get back to us, and get ready to win another hockey game.”
“We had a heck of a road trip and are playing good hockey,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “Even [Thursday], they did enough to at least get something out of this game. Unfortunately, we didn't, and the mindset is we need to get something on Saturday.”
Preds Captain Roman Josi was a late scratch on Thursday in Utah and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Jordan Oesterle took Josi’s spot in the lineup for his first NHL game of the season. Defenseman Nicolas Hague (upper body, day-to-day) did not play, and Ozzy Wiesblatt was a healthy scratch against the Mammoth.
The Good Guys:
Erik Haula scored the lone Nashville goal on Thursday in Utah, and Juuse Saros took the loss in net. Filip Forsberg has 38 goals and leads the Preds with 73 points, followed by Ryan O’Reilly with 72 points (25g-47a). Steven Stamkos is one goal away from 40 and has 61 points, while Luke Evangelista has 41 assists and 51 points. Saros is now 28-21-8 on the season; Justus Annunen is 9-11-2.
The Opposition:
The Wild have clinched a playoff spot but saw a four-game win streak come to an end on Thursday night in Dallas with a 5-4 loss. Today will mark Michael McCarron’s return to Nashville after being traded to Minnesota last month.
Kirill Kaprizov leads the Wild with 45 goals and 89 points on the season, followed by Matt Boldy with 42 tallied and 85 points. Quinn Hughes has 69 assists and 76 points from the backend. Filip Gustavsson is 28-14-6 in net this season; Jesper Wallstedt is 17-8-6.
All-Time Meetings:
The Preds are 48-29-(5)-13 all-time against the Wild, including a 29-10-(2)-6 mark at home. Nashville is 4-2-4 in the last 10 meetings versus Minnesota and 3-1-1 in the past five at Bridgestone Arena.
Today’s contest is the fourth and final game between the two division rivals this season; Minnesota defeated Nashville by a 6-5 final in overtime in the most recent meeting back in February.
Milestone Watch:
Filip Forsberg is two assists from 400 in his NHL career.
Ryan O’Reilly is four points from 900 in his NHL career.
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for this afternoon’s contest begins at 3:30 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.)
