Opening Night: Stars vs. Preds

Finally, after the most exciting offseason in Predators franchise history, opening night is here.

Nashville hosts the Dallas Stars tonight at Bridgestone Arena for a puck drop at 7 p.m. CT to begin the 2024-25 season, the 26th season in Preds history. The Central Division rivals each begin their 82-game slate tonight and both clubs have high expectations with the first game just hours away.

The Preds made the biggest splash in NHL free agency last July when general manager Barry Despite signed forwards Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault and defenseman Brady Skjei to multi-year deals. Considering these new additions to a group that already caused quite a stir last season, the anticipation for a new season is remarkable to say the least.

“We have the tools to be successful in this group,” Preds assistant captain Ryan O'Reilly said. “The ultimate goal is to win the cup and I think we are confident we can do that. We have the parts we need, but there is still so much work to be done. It's not just something you have to want. The details will matter and the effort we put in every day will make us compete for them. So I think as a group we believe in that. We know the players we have here and we know we can do something special, but our focus is on day-to-day life in the first game and then go from there.”

The Predators will certainly face quite a test early on against Dallas, and they wouldn't have it any other way on opening night.

“It’s great for us,” Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said of the game against the Stars. “I mean, probably the best team in the NHL last year in the regular season. They don't give you much. It will be a difficult game if we don't have the necessary intensity and don't play properly. It will be like the last time we played them here. So I think we know there's probably still some scar tissue… and hopefully we'll be ready to go here on Thursday.”

“It’s a great test,” said Preds defender Alexandre Carrier. “It’s still exciting. You want to play these games, right? You don't want a boring first game. So it will be a challenge and we always get a good duel against them. It's always tight too. So I’m looking forward to seeing them.”

After practice on Wednesday, the Predators announced that goaltender Juuse Saros is dealing with a lower-body injury. Saros was on the ice for practice, as were goaltenders Scott Wedgewood and Matt Murray, the latter of whom was recalled from Milwaukee (AHL) on Wednesday morning.

Brunette said Wednesday that he wasn't sure at the moment who would start in the opening game, and Saros added that he felt better on Wednesday than he did on Tuesday.

Opening ceremonies at Bridgestone Arena begin at 3:00 p.m. CT with a plaza party, followed by the annual Preds Player Gold Walk at 4:00 p.m. Arena doors open at 5:00 p.m. before puck drop at 7:00 p.m. Click here for more information and to purchase opening night tickets.

Last time out:

After Nashville's highly anticipated preseason finale against Tampa Bay, which was scheduled to take place last Monday night, was canceled, a 5-3 loss Saturday to Carolina ended up being the last game before opening night for the Preds.

Tommy Novak finished the night with a goal and two assists, while Mark Jankowski and Cole Smith also scored in the loss. Saros stopped all 12 shots he faced in the first period, while Wedgewood conceded four goals in the final two frames.

Nashville finished the preseason with a 2-3-0 record, including a 6-0 win over Tampa Bay on September 28th and a 6-4 win over Carolina on October 2nd.

The good ones:

Forward Filip Forsberg led the Predators last season with 48 goals – a team record for a single season – and 94 points, just two shy of the franchise's all-time scoring mark. Captain Roman Josi scored 23 goals and 85 points, while forward Gustav Nyquist scored 23 goals and 75 points.

Stamkos scored 40 goals and 81 points as Tampa Bay captain last season; Marchessault led Vegas with 42 goals and 69 points, and Skjei added 13 goals and 47 points from the Carolina blueline in the 2023-24 season.

Saros went 35-24-5 with a .906 save percentage last season; Wedgewood posted a 16-7-5 record with Dallas in 2023-24.

The other guys:

The Stars reached the Western Conference Finals in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, where they fell to Edmonton in six games.

Jason Robertson led the Stars with 80 points (29g-51a) last season, and Wyatt Johnston led the team in goals with 32. Roope Hintz scored 30 goals and 65 points this season, and former Preds forward Matt Duchene scored 25 goals and 65 points in his first season with Dallas. Joe Pavelski, who was second on the Stars with 67 points, left in the offseason.

Goaltender Jake Oettinger posted a 35-14-4 record for Dallas. Netminder Matt Murray, who signed with the Predators over the summer and was recalled to Nashville on Wednesday, pitched a shutout in his only appearance with the Stars last season.

All-time meetings:

The Predators are 50-52-(1)-5 overall against the Stars, including a 31-21-(1)-2 record at Bridgestone Arena.

This is the first of four contests between the division opponents this season. The teams will also play their season finale against each other on April 10th at Bridgestone Arena. This is only the second time the Predators have started and ended the season against the same opponent (CBJ, 2012-13).

The 2023-24 regular season series was split into two games, 2-2-0. The away team won every game of the season series, including the Predators, who beat the Stars twice in a week in January (January 6, 4-3; January 12, 6-3).

The Predators are 21-16-1 in their last 38 games against the Stars and 6-6-0 in their last 12 home games against Dallas.

Celebrities vs. Dallas:

Steven Stamkos has 28 points (17g-11a) in his last 22 games against the Stars. Stamkos scored in Game 3 of the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals against Dallas after returning from an injury that had ruled him out of the entire postseason up to that point. He became the first player since 1940 to score in the Stanley Cup Final in his first postseason appearance.

Scott Wedgewood played for Dallas the last three seasons. During that span, he posted a record of 28-16-11, a .909 save percentage and a 2.87 goals-against average.

Roman Josi has 36 career points (12g-24a) against the Stars, the second most against a single opponent in his NHL career. Since entering the league in the 2011-12 season, Josi has scored the seventh-most points and fourth-most assists against Dallas among all active skaters.

Ryan O'Reilly's 22 career assists against Dallas are the 10th-most assists by an active skater.

Filip Forsberg scored 15 goals and 28 points in 41 meetings with Dallas. His 15 goals against the Stars are the fourth-most against a single team in his career and the eighth-most of any active skater since his rookie season in 2012-13.

Milestone clock:

Luke Schenn has two points of 200 and four games of 1,000 in his NHL career.

Gustav Nyquist scored two of 200 goals in his NHL career.

Filip Forsberg is two games short of .700 in his NHL career.

Tommy Novak has five points out of 100 in his NHL career.

See and hear:

Tonight's home opener will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu, with Bob Wischusen and AJ Mlezcko.

Voice of the Predators Pete Weber and Jay More will be calling the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network. The coverage before, after the game and during the break begins one hour before Max Herz drops the puck. The game will also be broadcast in Spanish on El Jefe, which airs on 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM. (The show was also broadcast in Spanish by El Jefe on 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM.)