The NHL regular season is an absolute grind.
An 82-game schedule, extending six months, plus a two-week pause for the Olympics this year, puts every player to the test.
For the Nashville Predators, the focus is to show that last season was a "fluke" and that they are ready to not only dominate the regular season but also make a push for a deep playoff run.
It's Smashville versus everyone and The Hockey News Nashville Predators is examining just how well the Predators stack up against every division in the league.
Today we take a look at the Central Division.
Winnipeg Jets
22-23 record: 1-1-2
23-24 record: 2-1-1
24-25 record: 2-2-0
The Predators have fared well against the Winnipeg Jets, who have qualified for the playoffs three years in a row and won the President's Trophy this past season.
This season was a matchup of the best power play in the league against one of the best penalty kills in the league. The Predators did allow three power-play goals over the three games, but none came in either of Nashville's wins over Winnipeg.
It'll be an uphill battle for the Predators against the Jets as two of three games in this series will be on the road.
25-26 prediction: 1-2-0
Dallas Stars
22-23 record: 0-4-0
23-24 record: 2-2-0
24-25 record: 2-2-0
The needle has moved a bit since the Predators went winless against the Stars two years ago.
Nashville lost its regular-season opener to the Stars by a goal, then had a three-goal win in Dallas two months later. In the final month of play, the Stars and Predators traded 5-1 wins to close out the regular season series.
In both of the Predators' wins against the Stars, they had one big scoring period. In the 4-1 win, the Predators scored three unanswered goals in the second period. In the 5-1 win, Nashville found the back of the net three times in the first period.
The third meeting was the final game of the season for Nashville, meaning the Stars could've been resting players. This year, the Predators and Stars will meet three times, twice at home. The third meeting will be the Predators' second game coming out of the Olympic break in Dallas.
25-26 prediction: 2-1-0
Colorado Avalanche
22-23 record: 0-3-1
23-24 record: 2-1-0
24-25 record: 2-1-1
Outside of an overtime loss, the Predators essentially won their regular-season series against the Avalanche. They picked up five of eight possible points in the series.
Nashville picked up a 5-2 win in early November before the Avalanche responded with a 3-2 win in overtime later that month. Colorado won again at home, 5-2, the next month. In the final meeting of the season, right after the 4 Nations Face-Off break, Nashville picked up a 2-1 win.
These games have been a bit closer than other divisional series. Even in the Predators' 5-2 loss, it was two empty net goals that put the game away, and Nashville outplayed Colorado. These two keep it close and it's probably going to be similar this year.
There are four games on the docket again. The first, Nov. 22, will be the Predators' first home game since the Global Series in Sweden. Nashville will have the week off between the Global Series game and the Avalanche game at home.
The second and third will be four days apart, with a home game against St. Louis squeezed in the middle. The January meeting will be the front of a road back-to-back in Denver and Vegas.
25-26 prediction: 2-2-0
Minnesota Wild
22-23 record: 2-1-0
23-24 record: 2-1-0
24-25 record: 1-1-1
The Minnesota Wild barely won the regular-season series against the Predators last season, picking up a 3-2 overtime win, which was their first meeting of the season.
Over the last three seasons, it's been one game that has decided this series. In 2023, it was a 4-3 Predators overtime win in the second-to-last game of the season.
In 2024, it was a blowout 6-1 win in the middle of February, but the Wild did get their lick back in a 4-3 overtime victory 11 days later. This series has had at least one overtime game and a blowout victory in the last few years.
This season, the Predators will see the Wild on the road in early November and late December, the day before the Christmas pause. The Wild are in Nashville on Feb. 4 and April 11, which is the third-to-last game before the end of the regular season.
25-26 prediction: 3-1-0
St. Louis Blues
22-23 record: 2-1-1
23-24 record: 3-0-0
24-25 record: 0-4-0
The Blues needed every point they could get to make it into the playoffs and didn't let the Predators pick up a single point in their regular season series. This was also a year after the Predators swept the regular season series.
There was one close game, a 3-2 loss in Nashville, but the Predators were outscored 18-8 in last season's series. In every game outside of the 3-2 loss, the Predators went down 2-0 early and could not recover.
In the last meeting, the Predators had a 2-0 lead before the Blues scored three unanswered goals.
If the Predators improve from last season, these two teams could be in the same area in the standings, so these matchups are going to be critical. They will have a home-and-home series four days apart in December and another game at the end of the month in St. Louis.
The final meeting of the regular season will be Feb. 2 in Nashville.
25-26 prediction: 1-2-1
Utah Mammoth (prev. Arizona Coyotes)
22-23 record: 2-2-0
23-24 record: 1-3-0
24-25 record: 2-1-0
Last season was the first time the Predators had won a regular-season series against the Coyotes since 2022.
The Predators' first-ever meeting against the Mammoth was a 4-0 shutout win on Nov. 9. They'd meet again on April 10, and Nashville walked away with a narrow 4-3 shutout win. Utah prevented the season sweep as it'd pick up a dominating 7-3 win four days later.
Similar to St. Louis, Utah made a late-season push to get into the playoffs, and the Predators could be competing with them this coming season to get in, making these games more critical.
The Predators will meet with the Mammoth four times this season, with their first meeting coming in the second game of the year on Oct. 11 in Nashville. They'll meet again on Dec. 29 in Salt Lake City in the third game of a seven-game road trip.
Utah is in Nashville on Jan. 24 and the final meeting is on April 9 in Utah.
The first matchup is during a home stand, the second is the toughest on the road trip, but the third comes after home games against Buffalo and Ottawa. The final is the end of a six-game road trip. It'll be a tight series.
25-26 prediction: 2-1-1
Chicago Blackhawks
22-23: 2-1-0
23-24: 4-0-0
24-25: 3-1-0
The Predators have not lost a season series to the Blackhawks since the 2016-17 season, funnily enough, the same year that the Predators went to the Stanley Cup Final.
That will likely not change this season as the Blackhawks are in full rebuild. However, this is a rivalry series and the games were close last season. Three out of the four meetings were decided by a goal, with two of the games needing extra time.
The exception was a 7-2 Predators loss on Feb. 7 in Chicago. In two of the three Predators wins, they had to come from behind as the Blackhawks got off to hot starts.
Nashville will face Chicago for the first time on Nov. 28 in Chicago, the day after Thanksgiving. The Blackhawks are in Nashville on Jan. 10 in the middle of a four-game home stand. In their first game out of the Olympic break, the Predators host the Blackhawks on Feb. 26.
Their final showdown of the season will be on March 22 in Chicago, their only road game in a five-game stretch.
25-26 prediction: 3-1-0
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