Five Things That Matter Most in Nashville’s Must-Win Return Tonight
The Predators return to play tonight after the Olympic break, and the team needs a strong performance as they restart their playoff chase.
After an extended Olympic break, the Nashville Predators return to play tonight hosting the Chicago Blackhawks at Bridgestone Arena. It’s a critical game for the Predators who sit four points outside of a wildcard spot, and there are five factors that could impact the outcome of tonight’s contest.
A Solid Start
The Predators can’t afford to ease back into the final stretch of the season if they want to compete for a playoff spot.
“This next week of hockey is really big,” Andrew Brunette said. “Some of these teams have a little bit of room to ease into these things. We don’t have that room. We don’t have that luxury.”
Starts have been a challenge for the Predators who have found themselves playing from behind in too many games already this season. The first ten minutes of tonight’s game will be crucial, and Brunette is looking for one thing from his team - urgency.
“I think [urgency] is the big thing for our group here right now, and in a controlled manner,” Brunette said this morning.
“Sometimes when you get back from a break, it’s hard to get both, so you’ll probably take the one.”
The Olympians
Roman Josi and Filip Forsberg have gotten a few practices in with the team since returning from Italy, but the Bronze Medal match and travel hiccups kept Erik Haula and Juuse Saros from joining the team until this morning’s skate.
“I’ve been home for one day,” Haula said this morning. “We got sent to New York and there's a snowstorm there, and we got stuck there. That wasn’t ideal and took away from the recovery process a little bit.”
“It’s a quick turnaround, but it’s all worth it.”
It isn’t just about the physical toll of playing through the break but also the mental load the Olympians have carried that could impact their return to NHL play.
“I think they’ve been in two weeks of basically playoff hockey. Even more than that, game sevens every night,” Andrew Brunette said.
Juuse Saros knows there is a mental shift that has to happen now that he is back in Nashville.
“You have to set your mindset back here. Obviously we want to make a good push here and that tournament is now gone so all the focus is here now,” Saros said. “Just have to take the positive side of that and get ready for a good push.”
While fans should expect to see Roman Josi and Filip Forberg in the lineup tonight, Brunette said this morning that both Saros and Haula will be game time decisions.
The It Factor
Tonight Nashville will need a strong game from Ryan O’Reilly. In the ten games before the Olympic break, O’Reilly had four goals and 13 points and has been one of the driving forces keeping Nashville’s playoff dream alive. O’Reilly currently boasts the best shooting percentage of his career and is on track to surpass his 82 game average in goals and points. This week at practices he has yet again been one of the first players on the ice and one of the last off.
Where Ryan O’Reilly will be playing after the trade deadline may be a hot topic around the league, but right now his value is in leading this Predators team. Nashville’s success comes when their best players are playing their best, and tonight the team will need O’Reilly’s first rate game.
The Man Advantage
Nashville’s top power play unit was cooking heading into the break. In the last ten games, the man advantage has been a big advantage going 30% on their 30 opportunities through that stretch. It should be no surprise that Steven Stamkos has been leading the way on the power play. Stamkos scored four of those nine power play goals in the ten games before the break and leads the team in power play goals this season.
On Wednesday, the top unit of Stamkos, Josi, Marchessaut, O’Reilly, and Forsberg worked on a few power play adjustments with Andrew Brunette to start practice. Those adjustments could be critical as the Predators face Chicago’s number one ranked penalty kill tonight.
Don’t Overlook the Youth
Tonight will be Zachary L’Heureux’s first NHL game in the 2025-2026 season, and he is anxious to get going. After an injury sidelined him in the preseason and remained a nagging issue into the fall, the 22-year-old healed up and then tore it up in Milwaukee.
“It’s been a grind of a season a little bit, having to deal with some injuries. But it’s part of the process. It’s part of being resilient,” L’Heureux said.
The grind of his rookie season last year had plenty of ups and downs.
“I felt like I lost maybe a little bit of swagger, a little bit of confidence last year,” L’Heureux said this week.
“Going to Milwaukee was definitely helpful to find that back, getting some big goals, help the team win down there as much as I could.”
In his 28 AHL games this season, L’Heureux scored 14 goals and played at a point per game pace.
L’Heureux hasn’t had much of a break from hockey. He played back to back games in Milwaukee over the weekend before being called up to Nashville.
“I think coming right from Friday, Saturday, right into practice Sunday here, it’s definitely kept the legs fresh,” L’Heureux said.
“I’m just excited to get things going.”
The Predators will need the best from their entire lineup as they kick off the final stretch of the season tonight at 7:00 pm CT.
