Apr 16, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators center Steven Stamkos (91) skates behind the net against the Dallas Stars during the third period at Bridgestone Arena. Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
The Nashville Predators held two scrimmages on the second day of practice Friday morning. It was a chance for players to get the competitive juices flowing as they head toward their pre-season opener, a split-squad doubleheader against the Florida Panthers on Sunday in Nashville.
Overall, Predators head coach Andrew Brunette was pleased with how the various lines looked.
“I think it’s always good to get scrimmaging,” he told reporters following Friday’s practice. “Players are antsy. They got a little tired at different times, but I thought it was a really good pace especially in the early parts of the scrimmages.”
Notable lines in the first scrimmage included Steven Stamkos-Fedor Svechkov-Joakim Kemell, Michael Bunting-Erik Haula-Jonathan Marchessault, and Reid Schaefer-Michael McCarron- Zachary L'Heureux.
Brady Skjei was paired with Nick Perbix on defense, while Adam Wilsby was paired with Justin Barron, and Kevin Gravel was with Ryan Ufko.
Matthew Wood, who is hoping for a roster spot after appearing in six games for the Predators late last season, scored a couple of goals while matched with Forsberg and Brady Martin in the second scrimmage.
Not surprisingly, the quality of play improved as the scrimmages went along.
“I thought they were much better the second scrimmage, which is to be expected,” Brunette said.
With spots up for grabs, the doubleheader against Florida will hopefully bring a little more clarity to the competition.
“It’s kind of nice to be here (with the doubleheader) this year,” Brunette said. “It’ll be nice to see different combinations. There’s lots of competition in camp. There’s a lot of guys fighting for some spots. A lot of them showed really well today.”
Puck drops for the split-squad games are 2 and 6 Pm CT at Bridgestone Arena.