After a long summer, it's once again time for the puck to drop at Bridgestone Arena to kick off the 2026-27 season. Both the Minnesota Wild and the Nashville Predators have had to wait a couple of extra days to get their first game under their belt. Minnesota will be without one of their top defensemen, as Brock Faber is currently recovering from a skull fracture that was suffered in preseason. Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson is also out of the lineup due to a lower-body injury. The Predators on the other hand, have a clean bill of health heading into opening night. Ross Colton, Mavrik Bourque, Jack Drury, Alexander Kerfoot and Adam Edstrom are all expected to make their Predators debut. PROJECTED LINES: Predators: Steven Stamkos - Ryan O’Reilly - Alexander Kerfoot Filip Forsberg - Matthew Wood - Nils Hoglander Ross Colton - Mavrik Bourque - Jonathan Marchessault Reid Schaefer - Jack Drury - Adam Edstrom Roman Josi - Ryan Ufko Brady Skjei - Nick Perbix Nicolas Hague - Adam Wilsby Juuse Saros Justus Annunen Wild: Kirill Kaprizov - Danila Yurov - Maxim Shabanov Blake Coleman - Joel Eriksson Ek - Matt Boldy Yakov Trenin - Ryan Hartman - Bobby Brink Nick Foligno - Michael McCarron - Marcus Foligno Quinn Hughes - Jared Spurgeon Olli Maatta - Jonas Brodin Daemon Hunt - Zach Bogosian Jesper Wallstedt Calvin Pickard HOW TO WATCH: The game will be broadcast on The Spot - Nashville 28 and the Nashville Predators App for those in the Predators' market. Otherwise, out-of-market fans can watch the game on ESPN+.
