Nashville Predators head coach Andrew Brunette, who has been away from the team since Sunday while attending to a family matter, will be back behind the bench Thursday night when the Predators take on the Utah Hockey Club in Salt Lake City.

Brunette released the following statement via the Predators' official X account Thursday morning:

"My father experienced an event that required urgent medical attention back home in Ontario, which is the reason why I was away from the team for the past few days. I'm happy to be back with our group beginning today in Utah. I'd like to thank our ownership and Barry Trotz for allowing me to spend this time with my family, and thank our entire coaching staff for their help in guiding our team in my absence. My family and I sincerely appreciate the support from everyone in our organization, our players and our fans."

Brunette had been absent from each of the Predators' previous two games, both at home – a 2-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday and a 7-6 overtime win over the New York Islanders on Tuesday. Assistant coaches Todd Richards, Derek Mackenzie and Darby Hendrickson assumed coaching duties during Brunette's absence.

The Predators (28-42-8, 64 points) will take on Utah (36-30-12, 84 points) Thursday at 8 p.m. CT.