Nashville Predators vs. Chicago Blackhawks
The Predators play 4 games per season against each division opponent.
The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The team has played its home games at Bridgestone Arena since 1998.
Quick Facts
- Division (both teams)
- Central Division, Western Conference
- Predators stanley cups
- None (as of established history)
- Predators first nhl season
- 1998–99
- Blackhawks franchise founding
- 1926
- Rivalry type
- Divisional; geographic (Midwest)
Lore & Background
The club was founded in 1997, when the NHL granted an expansion franchise to Craig Leipold, with the team beginning play in the 1998–99 season. After five seasons, the Predators qualified for their first Stanley Cup playoffs during the 2003–04 season. In 2008, ownership of the team was transferred from Leipold to a locally based ownership group. The Predators advanced to their first Stanley Cup Final in 2017, but were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. In the following season, the Predators won their first Presidents' Trophy and Central Division title.
Reader's Guide
The Predators are currently affiliated with two minor league teams: the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL), and the Atlanta Gladiators of the ECHL.
Did You Know?
- The Predators' logo is a saber-toothed cat (Smilodon fatalis), referencing a partial skeleton found beneath downtown Nashville in 1971.
- The team's first head coach was Barry Trotz, named on August 6, 1997.
- The Predators played their first game on October 10, 1998, losing 1–0 to the Florida Panthers.
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