It's the third meeting of the 2025-26 season between the Nashville Predators and Chicago Blackhawks with the trade deadline one week from tomorrow.
The Predators (26-24-7) won their first meeting against the Blackhawks (22-26-9) back on November 28 by a narrow 4-3 final score on the road. The Predators got multi-point efforts from Luke Evangelista, Ryan O'Reilly and Steven Stamkos.
In the second meeting on January 10 it was a major letdown by the Predators by getting blanked on home ice by a 3-0 final score. The Predators did put up 36 shots on goal, but handed Drew Commesso his first NHL win.
Blackhawks at Preds Game Notes and Players to Watch
Spencer Knight is confirmed as the starting goalie in the third meeting of the season tonight in Nashville, with the Predators saying that Juuse Saros is a game-time decision following his arrival back from the Olympics. If not Saros, then Justus Annunen will take the crease for the Predators.
Knight has had a pretty solid season for Chicago with a respectable .908 save percentage and three shutouts. He has been particularly unbreakable in his four career appearances against Nashville winning three games and losing none while posting a blistering .939 save percentage.
The Blackhawks will have Connor Bedard patrolling the top line center role, while the Predators are expected to have Zachary L'Heureux make his season debut after playing in 62 games in his rookie campaign last season.
Erik Haula, returning from Team Finland at the Olympics along with Saros, is listed as a gametime decision per Head Coach Andrew Brunette.
#Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette calls Juuse Saros and Erik Haula "game-time" decisions for tonight against Chicago.
— Brooks Bratten (@brooksbratten) February 26, 2026
Without Haula in the starting lineup as an important second line center, the team will have to do some shuffling at a position they're alreayd really thin at. They would possibly have to move Stamkos to center and shift in Ozzy Wiesblatt to the starting lineup at a winger spot.
Aside from that, the Predators are actually extremely healthy for being so deep into the regular season. They have no starters listed on the injury report.
Of course all eyes will continue to be on the trade possibilities with five games left. If the Predators lose tonight against Chicago and then perhaps lose their next one at Dallas on Saturday, it will be even further confirmation to aggressively pursue all trade avenues by GM Barry Trotz.
Both of these teams were playing mediocre going into the Olympics break. The Blackhawks were 3-5-2 in their last 10, while the Predators are 3-4-3. Both teams are below average at goal scoring, with the Blackhawks ranking 26th in goals per game and the Predators ranking 21st.
One area to give the Blackhawks a lot of credit in is their NHL-leading penalty kill which sits at a 85.7 percent success rate, while the Predators power play has shown modest improvement this year sitting at 13th in the NHL at 21.8 percent. That's nearly identical to their power play rate last season.
According to MoneyPuck's playoff odds, the Predators have a 22.6 percent chance to make it with 25 games left. They have the game is "almost meaningless" for the Blackhawks, but have it listed as "big game" for the Predators. Their playoff odds would climb four percent with a win over the Blackhawks tonight, and drop a staggering seven percent with a regulation loss.
The first game following a long break like this is so unpredictable. Both teams will have to shake some rust off, which could mean defensive lapses are plentiful. That's why I could see this game being shaped by how sharp each goaltender looks early on while each team gets their legs under them.