GAME DAY: Mammoth vs. Preds, October 11

Following a victory on Opening Night, the Nashville Predators will look for more of the same this evening when they host the Utah Mammoth for the first Saturday Night in Smashville of the season at Bridgestone Arena (7 p.m. CT).

Tonight’s contest is the first of four meetings between the divisional foes on the campaign, and also the first clash against Utah with a new name and logo after the team began as the Utah Hockey Club last season.

Regardless of the opponent’s nickname, however, the Preds will be looking to build off a 2-1 win against Columbus on Thursday, a game that saw Nashville rebound from a tough second period to play to their identity in the final frame with a style of play that led to success.

“I think we try and keep that momentum with the third period there,” Preds forward Tyson Jost said Friday after his Nashville debut the night before. “Obviously there's some defensive little stuff we can clean up, and just little things of our game, but that’s part of the first couple games here. But building that third period, I think that's something that we really lean into, and that’s part of our identity, and something we build off for sure.”

Forward Matthew Wood, who began the season on Injured Reserve with a lower-body injury, was assigned to the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals on Friday afternoon. Wood participated fully in Friday’s practice with the Preds before the assignment.

The Good Guys:

Michael Bunting and Ryan O’Reilly found the back of the net for the Preds on Opening Night, and Juuse Saros made 37 saves in net to collect his first win of the season.

With his assist on O'Reilly's power-play goal, Filip Forsberg has now recorded a point in 10 consecutive season-opening games dating back to 2016-17. He's just the fifth player in NHL history to accomplish the feat, following Vincent Lecavalier (11 GP from 2002-03 – 2013-14), Viktor Kozlov (11 GP from 1997-98 – 2008-09), Jaromir Jagr (10 GP from 1997-98 – 2007-08) and Sergei Zubov (10 GP from 1995-96 – 2005-06).

Roman Josi and Erik Haula also added an assist each in the win with a total of five Preds players collecting a point on Opening Night.

Brady Martin (18 years, 207 days) became the second youngest player ever to skate for the Predators, behind Scott Hartnell (18 years, 171 days on Oct. 6, 2000). Martin, the No. 5 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, also is the third Predators draftee to skate in the team’s season opener immediately following his draft (after Hartnell in 2000-01 and Seth Jones in 2013-14).

The Opposition:

Utah began its 2025-26 season on Thursday night in Denver with a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Dylan Guenther scored the lone goal for the Mammoth, and former Preds prospect Karel Vejmelka stopped 25 of 27 shots he faced in the loss.

Utah finished its inaugural season with a 38-31-13 record and was led by Clayton Keller with 90 points in the previous campaign.

All-Time Meetings:

The Predators won last year’s season series against Utah with a 2-1-0 record. Nashville shut out Utah, 4-0, at Bridgestone Arena in the first matchup between the two teams. The Preds also won the second game of the series, 4-3, in a shootout last April at the Delta Center. Nashville is 3-2-0 in its last five outings against the Utah/Arizona franchise and 4-6-0 in its last 10 games.

Notables Versus Utah:

Michael Bunting was selected by the Arizona franchise in the fourth round (117th overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft. He played 26 games for Arizona from 2018-21, recording 14 points (11g-3a).

Ryan O’Reilly had 38 points (15g-23a) in 48 career games against the previously located and named Arizona Coyotes, a total tied for the third-most he has recorded against a single team in his career (Dallas Stars).

Steven Stamkos posted 22 points (11g-11a) in 22 career games against the Arizona franchise.

Milestone Watch:

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

Tyson Jost is four games from 500 in his NHL career.

Michael Bunting is four goals from 100 in his NHL career.

Steven Stamkos (228) is five power play goals from passing Dino Ciccarelli (232) for the 10th-most in NHL history.

Watch & Listen:

Coverage for Saturday Night in Smashville begins at 6:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on FanDuel Sports Network South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley and Hal Gill. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic, analyst Chris Mason and rinkside reporter Kara Hammer will have the call on the television side.

Voice of the Predators Pete Weber and Jay More will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network, with pregame, postgame and intermission coverage by Max Herz beginning one hour before puck drop. The game will also be broadcast in Spanish on El Jefe which airs on 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM. (El partido también se transmite en español por El Jefe en 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM y 810 AM.)