NHL Global Series Game Day: Preds vs. Penguins, November 14

The Nashville Predators have settled in Sweden, and they’ll take on the Pittsburgh Penguins for the opening game of the 2025 NHL Global Series at Avicii Arena in Stockholm for a 1 p.m. CT puck drop. Today’s contest is the first of two meetings between the Preds and Pens in Sweden; they’ll conclude the Global Series on Sunday before heading back home.

After arriving on Tuesday, practicing on Wednesday and exploring Stockholm on Thursday, the Preds are now ready to get back to game action halfway around the world. They’re relishing the opportunity to play NHL games in a place like Sweden, but they’re also well aware of their current situation in the standings.

A pair of wins could go a long way in getting Nashville back on track, but they can’t get two without the first, and they’re hoping a trip like this could galvanize their group.

“For the group, I think it's refreshing in a lot of different ways,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said Tuesday in Sweden. “We get to take a step back. We’ve played, I think, nine [games] in 16 nights, lots of travel, some back to backs. Obviously a tough loss last night, some tough losses along the way, where we played pretty well and didn't get results. So, I think for us, [we] just [want to] take a step back… As a group, it's a great opportunity to bond together. These are types of things in a season that you could really take advantage of as a group, as a team. These could be defining moments, and for us, I hope it is a defining moment.”

“I think this is certainly a combination of [wanting to have fun but also wanting to win],” Swedish winger Filip Forsberg said. “It hasn’t been the start that we're looking for, especially the last few games that haven't gone our way. But a trip like this is something that could really make the team even stronger. Obviously we have a couple days until the first game on Friday, and we're going to have some fun and put some work in to get ready for that. But overall, I think we’ve just got to kind of flush what happened this past weekend and bring a lot of excitement. That’s how I'm going to approach this week, and I’m sure that everyone else is equally excited.”

Forsberg, along with defenseman Adam Wilsby, are back in their home country and are expected to have numerous friends and family in the crowd.

Prior to Monday’s game, the Preds recalled forward Joakim Kemell from Milwaukee. Kemell did not dress against the Rangers. Wilsby returned from injury on Monday night and was paired with Spencer Stastney. Justin Barron was a healthy scratch.

Nashville practiced Wednesday, enjoyed an off day on Thursday and will hold a morning skate today ahead of their first meeting with the Penguins.

The Good Guys:

Nashville’s most recent outing, a 6-3 loss to the New York Rangers last Monday at Madison Square Garden, featured a hat trick for rookie winger Matthew Wood. He became one of just six rookies since 2000 to score in each of his first three road games of a season. The others: Sven Andrighetto (4 GP in 2015-16), Logan Couture (3 GP in 2010-11), David Moss (3 GP in 2006-07), Joe Pavelski (3 GP in 2006-07) and Evgeni Malkin (3 GP in 2006-07).

Wood is the first rookie in Predators history with multiple power-play goals in a game. The NHL’s last rookie to achieve that feat was Zachary Bolduc (2 on April 5). Wood also became the second rookie in Predators history to record a hat trick, following Blake Geoffrion (March 20, 2011).

Forsberg leads the Preds with seven goals and 14 points on the season, followed by Ryan O’Reilly with six goals and 13 points. Wood now also has six goals and 10 points to his name; Michael Bunting (4g-6a), Erik Haula (3g-7a) and Luke Evangelista (2g-8a) also have 10 points apiece. Juuse Saros is 5-6-3 in net; Justus Annunen is 0-3-1.

The Opposition:

The Penguins have dropped four of their last five outings, including a 3-2 loss to Los Angeles on Sunday. Evgeni Malkin leads Pittsburgh with 18 assists and 21 points in 17 games, followed by Sidney Crosby with 11 goals and 20 points. Bryan Rust has five goals and 15 points; Anthony Mantha has eight goals and 13 points. Goaltender Tristan Jarry is on Injured Reserve for the Pens; Arturs Silovs is 4-2-3, while rookie Sergei Murashov lost his only start.

All-Time Meetings:

The Preds are 15-17-(2)-5 all-time against the Penguins and 2-6-2 in their last 10 outings versus Pittsburgh. This event will mark the first time that two NHL teams meet again in regular-season games overseas; the Predators and Penguins initially faced off 25 years ago in Saitama, Japan, to begin the 2000-01 regular season as part of GAME ONe Japan 2000 (the League’s last regular-season venture to Asia).


These will be the fifth and sixth regular-season games outside North America for the Predators, which will tie them for the most in NHL history. Nashville owns a 3-1-0 record in games hosted in Europe or Asia.


Notables Versus Pittsburgh:

Steven Stamkos has 49 points (19g-30a) in 46 career games against Pittsburgh. Stamkos has found the scoresheet in 18 of the last 22 meetings (11g-16a). He made his NHL debut on Oct. 4, 2008 at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czechia, as part of the NHL Premier Series. 


Jonathan Marchessault has 15 points (6g-9a) in 15 career games against the Penguins. 


Penguins forward Philip Tomasino was selected by Nashville in the first round (24th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft; he skated in 159 games for the Predators from 2021-24 and posted 71 points (23g-48a).

Pittsburgh forward Tommy Novak was selected by Nashville in the third round (85th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft and had 117 points (49g-68a) in 201 games with the Predators from 2021-25.

Penguins Assistant Coaches Nick Bonino and Rich Clune both players for the Predators during their NHL careers – Bonino spent three seasons in Nashville from 2017-20 and Clune played 106 games from 2012-15.

Pittsburgh Head Coach Dan Muse served as an assistant coach for the Predators from 2017-20. Nashville Defense Development Coach Rob Scuderi was an alternate captain on Pittsburgh’s Stanley Cup-winning team in 2009.

Milestone Watch:

Michael Bunting is one goal from 100 in his NHL career.

Filip Forsberg is two games from 800 and five points from 700 in his NHL career.

Ryan O’Reilly is three power play goals from 100 in his career.

Steven Stamkos (230) is three power play goals from passing Dino Ciccarelli (232) for the 10th-most in NHL history.

Luke Evangelista is four points from 100 in his NHL career.

Watch & Listen:

Coverage from Game One of the Global Series begins at 12:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on FanDuel Sports Network South. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic and Chris Mason will have the call on the television side from Stockholm, while Pete Weber will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network.