The Predators are back in Nashville to begin a season-long, five-game homestand when they host the Anaheim Ducks for a 7 p.m. CT puck drop tonight at Bridgestone Arena. This evening’s contest is the first of three meetings between the two clubs this season; the Preds and Ducks won’t face each other again until April.

Nashville returns to home ice following a four-game Canadian road trip that saw them go 1-2-1 across stops in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Winnipeg over the past week. Now, they’ll look to build on the good from that trip and take advantage of what’s to come in their own barn.

“You always want to make your home ice a tough place to play, a tough place for the opposing team to get points, and we’ve got a crowd that helps that for sure,” Preds defenseman Nick Perbix said. “And then we’ve got the guys in the locker room to help do that. It’s important, especially with the way we ended the last road trip, [to get some wins at home].”

“Every point is huge, but I think on home ice here, if we can get that feeling, get the fans into it, I think they they drive us a lot of nights, but we have to give them something to get excited about,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “I thought we did the first two games. So, to come back here, our start is going to be important after a long road trip. To me, it’s just one game at a time. I’m not really looking at how long the homestand is. We’ve just got a really fast team coming in, and our mindset has to be right going into [tonight’s] game.”

Preds defenseman Nic Hague, who has yet to play this season and remains on Injured Reserve with an upper-body injury, practiced with the team on Monday. Jonathan Marchessault, who missed Saturday’s game in Winnipeg and is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, did not practice Monday.

Luke Evangelista skated with Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly during Monday’s practice. Brady Martin centered Fedor Svechkov and Tyson Jost, while Steven Stamkos took Marchessault’s spot on the Erik Haula line.

The Good Guys:

Michael Bunting scored Nashville’s lone goal during Saturday’s 4-1 loss in Winnipeg with Juuse Saros making 20 saves in the effort. Marchessault (2g-2a), Haula (2g-2a) and Roman Josi (1g-3a) share the team lead with four points each. Bunting, O’Reilly and Nick Perbix have all found the back of the net on two occasions thus far. Saros is now 2-1-2 through five starts with a .919 save percentage. Justus Annunen lost in his only appearance of the season.

The Opposition:

The Ducks have a pair of wins on the young season but have dropped their last two decisions, including a 2-1 overtime loss in Chicago on Sunday night. Leo Carlsson leads Anaheim (2g-4a) with six points through five games, followed by newcomer Chris Kreider (4g-1a) and Mason McTavish (1g-4a) with five points apiece. Lukas Dostal is 1-2-1 in net with an .898 save percentage; Petr Mrazek won his only start of the season.

All-Time Meetings:

The Predators are 39-36-(2)-11 all-time against the Ducks, including a 25-14-(2)-3 record at Bridgestone Arena. Nashville is 5-5-0 in their last 10 versus Anaheim and 2-3-0 in their last five at home.

Nashville has earned at least one point in 16 of its last 23 games against Anaheim (13-7-3). The Predators posted a six-game winning streak against the Ducks from Nov. 22, 2021-March 12, 2023. It was tied for Nashville’s longest winning streak vs. Anaheim in franchise history (also: Jan. 5, 2011-March 18, 2012).

Notables Versus Anaheim:

Steven Stamkos has recorded 20 points (10g-10a) in 21 career games vs. Anaheim.

Filip Forsberg has 29 points (10g-19a) in 27 career games against Anaheim, including eight multi-point outings. He became the first player in Predators history to record multiple five-point games when he notched two goals and three assists on March 21, 2022 at Anaheim.

Ryan O’Reilly has recorded 34 points (13g-21a) in 48 appearances against Anaheim in his career, including points (2g-1a) in three of his past four outings vs. Anaheim. The 34 points are tied for the sixth-most he has recorded against a single franchise (Colorado).

Milestone Watch:

Brady Skjei is three games from 700 in his NHL career.

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

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

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

Watch & Listen:

Coverage for tonight’s contest 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.)