GAME DAY: Stars vs. Preds, October 3

Dallas Stars (0-1-0) vs. Nashville Predators (0-1-0)

7 p.m. CT | Bridgestone Arena | Buy Tickets

Watch: Scripps Sports/The Spot - Nashville 28; PredsTV App (in-market); ESPN+ (out-of-market)

Listen: 102.5 The Game, Preds Radio Network; El Jefe

Live Stats: GameCenter

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The first Saturday Night in Smashville of the season has arrived, and the Nashville Predators will host the Dallas Stars for a 7 p.m. CT puck drop on Hispanic Music Heritage Night at Bridgestone Arena. 

This evening’s contest is the first of four meetings between the two division rivals this season; the Preds will travel to Dallas twice in the months ahead before finishing the campaign at home against the Stars on April 10. 

The Preds opened the season on Thursday with a 3-1 loss to Minnesota, a game that saw Roman Josi score the lone Nashville goal. Now, the Predators will look to show the same urgency from the opening puck drop against a Dallas team that was shut out by St. Louis in their season opener last night.

“I think the one thing I want to see the same is the effort,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said following Friday’s practice. “I thought the effort was there. I thought we worked all the way through. A little disappointed in some of our puck play. I thought we made it really hard on ourselves to get to our game with how we managed it, how we weren't connected with it… I thought we threw way too many pucks away. Was it for lack of effort? I just think we were hoping for things to happen instead of making things happen.”

The Predators assigned defenseman Ryan Ufko to Milwaukee (AHL) on Friday after the young blueliner spent Opening Night paired with Preds Captain Roman Josi. The transaction means a defenseman on the Nashville roster who did not dress on Thursday - Ilya Lyubushkin, Jack Ahcan or William Trudeau - will likely make their Preds debut tonight. 

“We’re looking for somebody to really grab a job here,” Brunette said of the defense corps. “I think there's a lot of moving parts, and there'll be some guys with an opportunity [tonight]. Hopefully they step up and don't let us take them out of the lineup.”

Nic Hague skated with Josi on Friday, while Lyubushkin and Ahcan were paired together. Adam Wilsby and Trudeau were a pair, while Brady Skjei and Nick Perbix remained together as well. There were no changes in Nashville’s forward lines during Friday’s practice.

Last Time Out: 

With his goal in Thursday’s 3-1 loss to the Wild, Josi improved his totals in season openers to three goals and five assists in 15 games to match Ryan Suter (eight in seven games) for the most points by a Predators defenseman and third among all skaters in franchise history. The only players with more are Filip Forsberg (5g-11a-16pts) and David Legwand (6g-6a-12pts). 

Forsberg’s assist on Josi’s goal gave him a point in his 11th consecutive season opener to tie an NHL record, a mark Vincent Lecavalier (11 GP; 2002-03 – 2013-14) and Viktor Kozlov (11; 1997-98 – 2008-09) share. 

All-Time Meetings: 

The Preds are 52-56-(1)-6 all-time against the Stars, including a 32-24-(1)-2 mark at home. Nashville is 4-5-1 in the last 10 versus Dallas and 1-4-0 in the last five meetings at Bridgestone Arena.

Nashville Notables: 

Acquired by the Preds from Dallas in a summer trade, Mavrik Bourque was selected by the Stars in the first round (30th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft. He played 156 games for Dallas from 2023-25, recording 66 points (31g-35a).

Ilya Lyubushkin, also dealt in the same trade, played 133 games for Dallas from 2024-25, recording 23 points (2g-21a).

Filip Forsberg has 17 goals and 35 points in 49 career meetings with Dallas. His 17 goals against the Stars are tied for the fifth-most against an individual team in his career.

Steven Stamkos has tallied 38 points (23g-15a) in his last 29 contests against the Stars.

Milestone Watch: 

Stamkos is just one goal from tying Joe Sakic (625) and Jarome Iginla (625) for the 17th-most in NHL history and four power-play goals (241) from tying Phil Esposito (246) for the sixth-most in League history.

Filip Forsberg is one assist from 400 in his NHL career.

Nic Hague is two points from 100 in his NHL career.

Ryan O’Reilly is two points from 900 in his NHL career.

Adam Edstrom is two games from 100 in his NHL career.

Hispanic Music Heritage Night: 

Join the Preds for Hispanic Music Heritage Night, the organization’s annual celebration of the Hispanic and Latino community in Music City. A Plaza Party begins at 5 p.m. CT at Bridgestone Arena with music and dance performances, plus a Preds Mercado featuring ELLA program vendors.

Exclusive merchandise is available at Nashville Locker Room, and the Preds player-signed jersey auction through the Nashville Predators Foundation benefits local non-profits serving the Hispanic community. Visit the Preds Foundation area outside of Sections 106/107, and to place a bid or check out the items up for auction, text "PREDS" to 76278. 

Watch & Listen: 

New this season, Preds fans can watch all locally broadcast Predators games on The Spot – Nashville 28 (WNPX) over the air with an antenna or on cable and satellite distributors serving the Predators territory.

Predators fans within the team’s TV viewing area can also stream 81 locally broadcast games for just $74 – less than $1 per game.

Nashville’s games will be streamed on the Nashville Predators App, which is available on the following devices:

• iOS/Android

• Amazon Fire TV

• Android TV

• Apple TV

• Roku

• Web via PredsTV.com

The season pass also includes access to on-demand game replays and exclusive content, such as “Inside Smashville,” a weekly magazine show that launches Friday, Oct. 2 on The Spot – Nashville 28 and Predators streaming platforms.

In addition to 81 of the team’s regular-season games being available on The Spot – Nashville 28 and via the Nashville Predators App stream, the remaining three contests will be exclusively broadcast on ESPN+.

Click here for more information on streaming and viewing options.

Fans may also listen on 102.5 The Game, the Preds Radio Network and El Jefe Radio.