Chicago Blackhawks (25-38-11, seventh in the Central) vs. Nashville Predators (42-27-5, fourth in the Central)
Nashville, Tennessee; Saturday, 12:30 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Chicago visits the Nashville Predators after the Blackhawks beat San Jose 5-4 in a shootout.
The Predators are 14-6-1 against opponents from the Central. Nashville leads the Western Conference with 5.6 assists per game, led by Roman Josi averaging 0.9.
The Blackhawks are 4-14-6 against Central opponents. Chicago has given up 50 power-play goals, killing 75.4% of opponent chances.
In their last matchup on Jan. 1, Nashville won 6-1. Mattias Ekholm recorded a team-high 3 points for the Predators.
TOP PERFORMERS: Josi leads the Predators with 87 points, scoring 19 goals and adding 68 assists. Ryan Johansen has six goals and three assists over the last 10 games for Nashville.
Taylor Raddysh leads the Blackhawks with a plus-zero in 13 games this season. Patrick Kane has eight assists over the last 10 games for Chicago.
LAST 10 GAMES: Predators: 5-4-1, averaging 2.6 goals, 4.8 assists, 5.1 penalties and 14.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game with a .916 save percentage.
Blackhawks: 2-6-2, averaging 2.6 goals, 4.9 assists, 2.4 penalties and 5.1 penalty minutes while giving up 4.1 goals per game with an .889 save percentage.
INJURIES: Predators: Matt Luff: day to day (illness), Michael McCarron: out (upper body).
Blackhawks: None listed.
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