GAME DAY: Preds at Blackhawks, Oct. 25

After earning their first win of the season, the Nashville Predators are in Chicago to take on the Blackhawks tonight at United Center for a CT puck drop at 7:30 PM. Tonight’s match marks the first of four meetings between the two division foes this season; the Preds and Hawks will face each other three more times once the calendar turns to 2025.

The Predators fell in their first five games at the start of the new campaign, but recorded a 4-0 victory over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena. That result provided a much-needed breath of fresh air to the club, and while the effort wasn’t perfect, it provided plenty to build on tonight.

“We have to try to bottle up the energy and the feeling,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said Thursday. “We can ride the wave, and the next line, the next group, takes over and plays. When we’re playing at our best, it’s territorial, it’s kind of in your face, and we have the puck, and I thought (Tuesday’s win), that was a step. This group has never been complacent. We always have to keep building our game, and (tonight) there is another great opportunity.

“We saw last night what made us successful,” Preds captain Roman Josi said. “I think we played hard for 60 minutes. We were hard in the forecheck and they didn’t have much time and space. We found our identity a bit in the way we have to play, and now it’s about building it .” We will get better and better every game.”

Predators forward Zachary L’Heureux made his NHL debut against Boston on Tuesday night and was praised by Brunette after the game for his energy and instincts. The Preds practiced in Nashville on Thursday before heading to Chicago; all players were present for the session.

Last timeout:

In Nashville’s 4-0 win over Boston on Tuesday, Ryan O’Reilly, Tommy Novak, Gustav Nyqust and Luke Evangelista found the back of the net, and goaltender Juuse Saros stopped all 33 shots he faced for Nashville’s first win of the season.

L’Heureux recorded one shot on goal and four hits in 9:59 of ice time in his NHL debut.

The good guys:

O’Reilly and Filip Forsberg each have two goals and four assists in six games and lead the Preds with six points each. Josi has five assists for Nashville, while Jonathan Marchessault and Luke Evangelista each have a goal and three helpers. Novak leads the Preds by three games, and Saros is 1-4-0 in net with a .903 save percentage.

The opposition:

The Blackhawks are 2-4-1 this season, including a 6-3 loss to Vancouver on Tuesday. Teuvo Teravainen leads Chicago with three goals and seven points; former Preds defenseman Seth Jones (1g-6a) and Connor Bedard (1g-6a) also have seven points to their names. Nick Foligno has three goals for Chicago, while Taylor Hall, Tyler Bertuzzi and former Preds forward Craig Smith have each found the back of the net twice. Goaltender Petr Mrazek is 2-3-0 this season; Arvid Soderblom is 0-1-1.

All-time meetings:

Nashville is 69-51-(4)-12 all-time against Chicago, including a 31-28-(1)-9 record on the road.

The 136 games against the Blackhawks are the most the Predators have played against any franchise. Their 69 wins are the most of any individual franchise (Columbus).

Nashville won last year’s regular season series four games to none, beating the Blackhawks 15-6. Chicago was one of three teams the Predators won every regular season game against (San Jose and St. Louis).

The Predators have earned at least a point in 27 of their last 31 games against the Blackhawks (23-4-4), holding Chicago to two or fewer goals 26 times in that span.

The Predators are 5-1-0 in their last six games against the Blackhawks; they are 9-1-1 in their last 11; and 8-0-2 in their last 10 on the road.

Notables vs. Chicago:

Gustav Nyquist has recorded 24 points (11g-13a) in 27 career games against the Blackhawks, the most he has recorded in his career against any franchise.

Ryan O’Reilly has posted 41 points (16g-25a) in 50 career games against Chicago, fifth-most among active skaters.

Juuse Saros is 12-3-2 with a 1.99 goals-against average, a .933 save percentage and two shutouts in 18 appearances against the Blackhawks.

Dante Fabbro (April 6, 2019) and Tommy Novak (December 17, 2021) both scored their first career NHL goals against Chicago.

Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones was drafted fourth overall by the Predators in 2013; He skated in 199 games for Nashville from 2013 to 2016, tallying 63 points (15g-48a).

Chicago forward Craig Smith was drafted by the Predators in the fourth round (98th overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft; he played in 661 games for Nashville from 2011 to 2020, recording 330 points (162g-168a).

Milestone watch:

Luke Schenn is one point shy of 200 in his NHL career.

Gustav Nyquist is one goal out of 200 in his NHL career.

Tommy Novak is two points shy of 100 in his NHL career.

Watch and listen:

Tonight’s match will air exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu, with John Buccigross, AJ Mlezcko and Emily Kaplan on the call.

Voice of the Predators Pete Weber and Hal Gill will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network, with pregame, postgame and intermission coverage by Max Herz beginning an hour before puck drop. The game will also be broadcast in Spanish on El Jefe, broadcast on 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM. (El partido también se broadcast in Español by El Jefe and 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM.)