Wild vs. Predators: Faber injury a major blow in 2026 opener
The Wild vs. Predators season opener Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena pits a Minnesota team coming off a second-round playoff run against a Nashville club trying to turn the page on a rough preseason. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. ET, with both teams at 0-0-0 and the Central Division race starting from scratch.
Minnesota enters without top defenseman Brock Faber and goaltender Filip Gustavsson, while Nashville is coming off back-to-back preseason losses to Carolina by a combined 12-5. Neither preseason record means anything once the games count, but how each team answers those questions early will shape the opening weeks.
Minnesota Wild at Nashville Predators game information
- Date: Thursday, Oct. 1
- Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Venue: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
- TV/Streaming: The Spot – Nashville 28 (Nashville); Wild+ and FOX (Minnesota)
- Series: Season opener for both teams
Wild outlook
The Wild went 46-24-12 last season and lost to Colorado in the second round, according to Field Level Media. That postseason run, the franchise’s first trip to the second round since 2015, raised expectations for 2026-27.
Minnesota heads into Wild vs. Predators dealing with significant absences in net and on defense. Faber is sidelined indefinitely after surgery for a skull fracture suffered during the preseason, per Field Level Media. Gustavsson had offseason hip surgery and is expected to miss the start of the season, according to The Hockey News.
With Gustavsson out, Jesper Wallstedt will handle the goaltending, with Calvin Pickard as his backup. Kirill Kaprizov, who led the Wild with 45 goals and 44 assists last season, is not satisfied. “I want to do so much more than what I showed last year,” he said, per Field Level Media.
Predators outlook
Nashville went 38-34-10 last season and missed the playoffs. The Predators finished the preseason with losses to Carolina on Sept. 24 (6-5) and Sept. 26 (6-0), per NHL.com.
Coach Andrew Brunette wants a quick start. “We’ve got to throttle down here right away,” he said. Defenseman Brady Skjei said slow starts have hurt the team in recent seasons. “The last couple years we just haven’t had (a good start),” he said. “We kind of dug ourselves a hole and couldn’t climb out of it.” That makes Wild vs. Predators an early chance for Nashville to change the narrative.
Nashville added forward depth with Mavrik Bourque, Ross Colton, Jack Drury, Adam Edstrom and Alex Kerfoot. Juuse Saros, who posted a 3.16 goals-against average last season, is expected to start the opener.
Key matchup in Wild vs. Predators: Wallstedt vs. Saros
Wallstedt’s season debut as Minnesota’s starter against Saros, a veteran who has carried Nashville’s crease for years, is the matchup to watch. With Gustavsson sidelined, the Wild need immediate stability in net.
Nashville’s preseason defense, which allowed 12 goals in its final two tune-ups, also puts pressure on Saros to bail out his team early. Whichever goalie settles in first could set the tone for each club’s opening weeks.
What to watch
Heading into Wild vs. Predators, both teams sit at 0-0-0 in a Central Division that also includes Colorado, Winnipeg, Dallas, St. Louis, Utah and Chicago, so Thursday’s result carries early weight in a division race that figures to be tight. For Minnesota, the bigger storyline is depth: with Faber and Gustavsson both out, the Wild need secondary contributors to step up.
For Nashville, the question is whether the preseason defensive breakdowns against Carolina were an anomaly or a sign of early-season issues. Follow the rest of the opening week in our NHL coverage.
Reporting from Field Level Media, NHL.com, The Hockey News and Fubo contributed to this story.