The Good Guys:
Michael Bunting, Blankenburg, Roman Josi, Ryan O’Reilly, Erik Haula and Steven Stamkos all tallied for Nashville on Wednesday, while Justus Annunen collected his first win of the season.
Blankenburg and Josi scored 15 seconds apart in the third period. It established the fastest two goals by defensemen in Predators history, besting the previous record of 23 seconds by Shea Weber and Kimmo Timonen on Dec. 2, 2006.
O’Reilly and Haula then scored 27 seconds apart for the Predators in the third period. Wednesday marked the third game in franchise history in which the club has scored a pair of goals 30 seconds apart or fewer on multiple occasions. The others: March 25, 2021 and Feb. 28, 2009.
Forsberg leads the Preds with nine goals and 17 points, followed by O’Reilly with seven goals and 16 points. Bunting (5g-8a), Haula (4g-9a) and Luke Evangelista (2g-11a) have 13 points apiece. Juuse Saros is 6-9-3 in net; Annunen is now 1-3-1.
The Opposition:
The Blackhawks have dropped four in a row, including a 4-3 overtime loss to Minnesota on Wednesday night. Connor Bedard leads Chicago with 14 goals and 33 points, followed by Tyler Bertuzzi with 12 goals and 20 points. Spencer Knight is 7-5-4 in net; Arvid Soderblom is 3-3-1.
All-Time Meetings:
The Preds are 72-52-(4)-12 all-time against the Hawks, including a 32-29-(1)-9 mark on the road. Nashville is 8-2-0 in their last 10 versus Chicago and 4-1-0 in the last five at United Center.
The Predators and Blackhawks have played against each other 140 times. Those 140 games are the most the Predators have played against any single franchise. Nashville has earned at least a point in 30 of their last 35 games against the Blackhawks (26-5-4), holding Chicago to two-or-fewer goals 29 times in that span.
Notables Versus Chicago:
Steven Stamkos recorded his third career hat trick against Chicago on March 8, 2025; the only players in NHL history with more against the franchise are Maurice Richard (10x) Gordie Howe (7x) and Mike Bossy (5x).
Filip Forsberg has recorded 28 points (14g-14a) in 38 career games vs. the Blackhawks. The winger scored his 300th career NHL goal on Jan. 16 vs. Chicago.
Juuse Saros is 14-4-2 with a 2.17 goals-against average, .926 save percentage and two shutouts in 21 career appearances vs. the Blackhawks. The 14 wins are the most Saros has recorded against a single franchise.
Milestone Watch:
Luke Evangelista is one point from 100 in his NHL career.
Filip Forberg is two points from 700 in his NHL career.
Ryan O’Reilly is three power play goals from 100 in his career.
Steven Stamkos is three points from 1,200 in his career.
Jonathan Marchessault is five assists from 300 in his NHL career.
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for this evening’s contest begins at 6:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on FanDuel Sports Network South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic and Chris Mason will have the call on the television side. Max Herz and Hal Gill will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network.
