The Chicago Blackhawks (26-31-12) host a Central Division opponent for the second time in three days, as the Nashville Predators (32-28-9) come to the United Center for the fourth and final meeting of the 2025-26 season on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n
The Predators have won two of the first three matchups this year, defeating the Blackhawks 4-3 on Nov. 28 and 4-2 on Feb. 26. Chicago\u2019s lone victory occurred on Jan. 10, winning 3-0 behind Drew Commesso\u2019s first NHL win and shutout. In the last game, which was both teams\u2019 return from the Olympic break, Nashville rallied from a 2-1 third-period deficit and scored three unanswered goals. Filip Forsberg, Matthew Wood (PP), Ryan O\u2019Reilly, and Steven Stamkos (EN) were the goal scorers for the Predators in the 4-2 win. Connor Bedard and Tyler Bertuzzi (PP) scored for the Blackhawks.<\/p>\n
Last time out, the Blackhawks were no match for the league-leading Colorado Avalanche, falling 4-1 at the United Center on Friday. Nathan MacKinnon recorded three assists, while Martin Necas, Brock Nelson (PP), Nazem Kadri (PP), and Valeri Nuchushkin found the back of the net. Wyatt Kaiser was the lone goal scorer for the Blackhawks, who dropped all three meetings with the Avalanche this season.<\/p>\n
The Predators are playing in the second half of a back-to-back and looking for their second win in as many days on Sunday. Stamkos led the charge in a 4-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena, scoring twice and adding an assist. Tyson Jost (SH) and O\u2019Reilly (PP) also scored, while Justus Annunen stopped 39 of 40 shots faced in net.<\/p>\n
Nashville has won three straight games and earned a point in six of its last eight entering Sunday. With their recent hot stretch, the Predators are up to 73 points in 69 games this season and currently sit in the second and final Wild Card playoff spot in the Western Conference. They are one point ahead of the Los Angeles Kings (72 points in 69 games) and two points clear of the Seattle Kraken (71 points in 69 games). It\u2019s shaping up to be a fascinating final stretch to the regular season, with six teams separated by only 6 points for the final playoff spot.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s everything else to note before the puck drops at 2:00 p.m. CT in Chicago.<\/p>\n
Blackhawks Projected Lineup<\/p>\n
Forward Lines<\/p>\n
Ryan Greene \u2014 Connor Bedard \u2014 Andre Burakovsky<\/p>\n
Tyler Bertuzzi \u2014 Frank Nazar \u2014 Teuvo Teravainen<\/p>\n
Landon Slaggert \u2014 Ryan Donato \u2014 Ilya Mikheyev<\/p>\n
Nick Lardis \u2014 Dominic Toninato \u2014 Sam Lafferty<\/p>\n
Defensive Pairings<\/p>\n
Alex Vlasic-Artyom Levshunov<\/p>\n
Wyatt Kaiser-Sam Rinzel<\/p>\n
Matt Grzelcyk-Ethan Del Mastro<\/p>\n
Scratched<\/p>\n
F \u2014 Sacha Boisvert (visa)<\/p>\n
Injured<\/p>\n
D \u2014 Louis Crevier (undisclosed), F \u2014 Andrew Mangiapane (undisclosed), F \u2014 Oliver Moore (lower body)<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
The Blackhawks did not hold a morning skate, so the forward lines and defensive pairings listed above are from Friday\u2019s loss to Colorado. Louis Crevier and Andrew Mangiapane are both expected to miss a second consecutive game, but could make their returns during the upcoming road trip.<\/p>\n
Predators Projected Lineup<\/p>\n
Forward Lines<\/p>\n
Steven Stamkos \u2014 Ryan O\u2019Reilly \u2014 Luke Evangelista<\/p>\n
Filip Forsberg \u2014 Matthew Wood \u2014 Jonathan Marchessault<\/p>\n
Erik Haula \u2014 Zachary L\u2019Heureux \u2014 Tyson Jost<\/p>\n
Reid Schaefer \u2014 Fedor Svechkov \u2014 Ozzy Wiesblatt<\/p>\n
Defensive Pairings<\/p>\n
Brady Skjei-Roman Josi<\/p>\n
Nicolas Hague-Nick Perbix<\/p>\n
Justin Barron-Ryan Ufko<\/p>\n
Scratched<\/p>\n
F \u2014 Joakim Kemell<\/p>\n
Injured<\/p>\n
G \u2014 Juuse Saros (upper body), D \u2014 Adam Wilsby (lower body)<\/p>\n
Projected Goaltending Matchup<\/p>\n
Spencer Knight (18-19-9, 2.63 GAA, .909 Sv%, 3 SO) vs. Justus Annunen (8-9-2, 2.89 GAA, .899 Sv%, 0 SO)<\/p>\n
Knight is expected to make his 47th start of the season for the Blackhawks. The 24-year-old allowed one goal on 29 shots faced to record the win in his last start on Thursday against the Minnesota Wild. Knight is 3-1-0 with a 1.83 GAA and .923 Sv% in five career appearances against Nashville.<\/p>\n
Annunen is expected to make his 19th start of the season for the Predators. The 26-year-old allowed one goal on 40 shots faced to earn the victory in his most recent start on Saturday against Vegas. Annunen is 4-0-0 with a 0.99 GAA, .961 Sv%, and two shutouts in four career games against Chicago. He\u2019s given up just four goals in those four games.<\/p>\n
2025-26 Results vs. Predators<\/p>\n
The Blackhawks have earned at least one point in four of their last six games against Nashville (2-2-2). Ryan Greene is riding a three-game point streak against the Predators (2G, 1A). Connor Bedard has notched points in seven of his last eight games against Nashville (4G, 5A), including points (2G, 2A) in three of his last four games against them at United Center.<\/p>\n
11\/28\/25 \u2014 4-3 L, United Center<\/p>\n
01\/10\/26 \u2014 3-0 W, Bridgestone Arena<\/p>\n
02\/26\/26 \u2014 4-2 L, Bridgestone Arena<\/p>\n
03\/22\/26 \u2014 United Center<\/p>\n
2025-26 Team Stats & Leaders<\/p>\n
Chicago Blackhawks:<\/p>\n
Goals \u2014 Connor Bedard & Tyler Bertuzzi (28)<\/p>\n
Assists \u2014 Connor Bedard (37)<\/p>\n
Points \u2014 Connor Bedard (65)<\/p>\n
GF\/GP \u2014 2.58 (30th)<\/p>\n
GA\/GP \u2014 3.14 (22nd)<\/p>\n
PP% \u2014 18.6% (22nd)<\/p>\n
PK% \u2014 84.1% (2nd)<\/p>\n
FOW% \u2014 46.6% (31st)<\/p>\n
Nashville Predators:<\/p>\n
Goals \u2014 Steven Stamkos (33)<\/p>\n
Assists \u2014 Ryan O\u2019Reilly (40)<\/p>\n
Points \u2014 Ryan O\u2019Reilly (64)<\/p>\n
GF\/GP \u2014 2.93 (19th)<\/p>\n
GA\/GP \u2014 3.32 (27th)<\/p>\n
PP% \u2014 23.3% (9th)<\/p>\n
PK% \u2014 80.6% (12th)<\/p>\n
FOW% \u2014 50.9% (13th)<\/p>\n
How To Watch, Listen, & Game Info<\/p>\n
Nashville Predators (32-28-9, 73 points) @ Chicago Blackhawks (26-31-12, 64 points)<\/p>\n
2:0 p.m. CT \u2014 United Center<\/p>\n
Head Coaches: Andrew Brunette (NSH), Jeff Blashill (CHI)<\/p>\n
TV\/Stream: CHSN (Ball\/Pang), FDSNSO<\/p>\n
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman\/Konroyd)<\/p>\n
For more Blackhawks news, visit Chicago Hockey Now<\/a> and like our Facebook Page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Follow us on X:<\/p>\n @chihockeynow<\/a>, @JackBushman2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Chicago Blackhawks (26-31-12) host a Central Division opponent for the second time in three days, as the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":506909,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5115],"tags":[521,37717,44949,49202,45780,49203,49204,37,96,5263,5,4,60192,43551,60193,50709],"class_list":["post-516961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago-blackhawks","tag-blackhawks","tag-blackhawks-game-day","tag-blackhawks-game-day-preview","tag-blackhawks-how-to-watch","tag-blackhawks-lines","tag-blackhawks-lineup","tag-blackhawks-starting-goalie","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-blackhawks","tag-chicagoblackhawks","tag-hockey","tag-nhl","tag-predators-how-to-watch","tag-predators-lines","tag-predators-lineup","tag-predators-starting-goalie"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116273916619459275","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=516961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/506909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=516961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=516961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=516961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}