A date with the Chicago Blackhawks is an opportune spot for the Nashville Predators to make headway on their playoff push.

Following a 20-day break since their last outing, the Predators will host the Blackhawks on Thursday night, a divisional rival that they have gotten the best of in 20 out of the past 25 meetings (20-3-2).

Despite back-to-back losses in its final two games prior to the Olympic break, Nashville’s hopes of returning to the postseason still remain very much alive.

Predators coach Andrew Brunette didn’t waver in his faith in his team when speaking to the media following its most recent 4-2 road defeat to the Washington Capitals prior to the break.

“I want them to feel good about themselves,” Brunette said when asked about how his team should approach the lengthy recess from the regular season. “I want them to have belief, and I want them to rest and recharge their batteries and come back hungry and excited. I think this group has never been tighter. You can see from night in, night out how hard they compete for each other, how much they care about each other.”

Veteran sniper Steven Stamkos’ offensive resurgence has certainly given the Predators plenty to believe in.

The two-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner as the NHL’s top goalscorer has a combined six points (three goals, three assists) over his past four games and has dominated Thursday’s opponent throughout his career. Across 35 career clashes with Chicago, Stamkos has compiled 40 points (22 goals, 18 assists).

While the Blackhawks are a long shot to sneak into the postseason for the first time in the past six seasons, they are hoping to finish outside the bottom three spots in the Western Conference for the first time since the NHL returned to its usual dual-conference format following the 2020-21 season.

“If we wanna get in the (playoff) picture, we’ve gotta win a lot of games in a hurry,” Chicago coach Jeff Blashill told the media over the break. “It’s been done in this league multiple times this year. It doesn’t mean that you have to win the first one, or you have to win the second one, or you’ve gotta put together a winning streak right away, but it means that at some point if we wanna get in the picture, we’ve gotta put together a heck of a winning streak.”

The Olympic break seemed to come at the perfect time for the Blackhawks after they lost six of their previous seven games (1-5-1), most recently being blanked 4-0 by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Feb. 4.

The road loss to the Blue Jackets also marked the end of superstar Connor Bedard’s four-game point streak (three goals, two assists).

The Blackhawks will look for their offense to take a step forward in their remaining 25 games, with goalscoring becoming a major issue of late. Chicago has mustered up more than two goals just four times over their past 14 games while posting a 4-8-2 record over that stretch.

–Field Level Media

Austin Riley hit a two-run home run to break an early tie and the host Atlanta Braves got past ace right-hander Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1 on Wednesday in North Port, Fla.

Skenes allowed one run, one hit and four walks with four strikeouts in facing 12 batters over 2 1/3 innings in his first start of spring training. The 2025 National League Cy Young Award winner also lost four strike calls to challenges won by the Braves using the automated ball-strike system.

He and the other Pirates pitchers didn’t get much run support as Ryan O’Hearn delivered the team’s lone RBI on a first-inning single — one of six Pittsburgh hits. The Braves totaled only five hits, including Jurickson Profar’s RBI double and Riley’s 419-foot shot to center field, both in the third inning.

Atlanta pitchers totaled 13 strikeouts, including a team-high three by starter Bryce Elder in two innings of work.

Orioles 4, Rays 3

Vance Honeycutt hit a 410-foot solo homer in the seventh inning for the winning run as host Baltimore came from down 3-1 to edge Tampa Bay in Sarasota, Fla.

In the fourth, the Rays’ Jonny DeLuca hit a three-run homer to center after Nick Fortes drew a leadoff walk and Ryan Vilade reached on third baseman Weston Wilson’s fielding error.

Baltimore, which had notched the game’s first run on Tyler O’Neill’s RBI double, drew even in the fifth on a fielder’s choice marred by second baseman Cooper Kinney’s throwing error that allowed two runs to come home. Honeycutt homered off right-hander Derrick Edington to lift the Orioles.

Blue Jays 4, Tigers (ss) 4

Toronto scored in the top of the ninth on two errors sandwiched around a single to forge a tie with host Detroit’s split squad in Lakeland, Fla.

The Blue Jays’ Riley Tirotta led off the ninth by reaching on first baseman Josue Briceno’s fielding error and went to third when Eloy Jimenez singled but was thrown out at second. Arjun Nimmala followed by grounding into a fielder’s choice with Tirotta scoring and Nimmala safe at second on shortstop John Peck’s throwing error.

Toronto got a big game from leadoff hitter Ernie Clement, who went 3-for-3 with two RBIs, a double and a triple. Jimenez added two hits, including a double. Thayron Liranzo hit a three-run homer for the Tigers in the sixth inning.

Red Sox 5, Twins 3

Boston scored four runs in the third inning en route to a 5-0 lead and held off host Minnesota in Fort Myers, Fla.

Each team collected eight hits, with the Red Sox getting doubles from Ceddanne Rafaela, Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell. Jarren Duran was the only Boston player with two hits. The Red Sox used nine pitchers who combined for eight strikeouts with four walks.

Luke Keaschall got the Twins on the scoreboard with a two-run double in the fifth. Tanner Schobel hit an RBI single in the eighth. Nine Minnesota pitchers yielded six walks while fanning five.

Phillies 5, Tigers (ss) 3

Otto Kemp homered and host Philadelphia never trailed in downing a Detroit split squad in Clearwater, Fla.

Alec Bohm was the lone Phillies batter with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with RBI singles in the third and fifth innings. Kemp slammed his first homer of spring training, a 419-foot solo shot in the fourth. Bryce Harper had his first RBI of the spring on a double.

Javier Baez singled home a run in the fourth and Brett Callahan homered in the ninth — a 405-foot shot — for the Tigers.

Astros 4, Marlins 1

Taylor Trammell and Anthony Huezo homered as visiting Houston scored all of its runs on extra-base hits to beat Miami in Jupiter, Fla.

Walker Janek drove in two with a double in the fourth inning to jump the Astros ahead of the Marlins 2-1. Trammell followed in the fifth with a 353-foot solo shot, and Huezo knocked a 364-foot homer to left center in the eighth. Houston starter Hunter Brown allowed one hit with two strikeouts in two scoreless innings.

Miami totaled just five hits, including leadoff batter Jakob Marsee’s double to open the bottom of the first inning. But he was picked off and the next two batters lined out to end the threat.

Cardinals 6, Mets 0

Nolan Gorman hit a three-run homer, which was all St. Louis pitchers would need in shutting out host New York in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Starter Richard Fitts earned the win with two hits and one strikeout over two innings as seven Cardinals hurlers combined on the eight-hit shutout. They yielded just one walk with six strikeouts.

Mets starter Jonah Tong gave up three runs on three hits and one walk with two strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings. Right fielder Carson Benge, one of New York’s top prospects, batted leadoff and went 3-for-3 while the rest of the team totaled five hits.

Brewers 13, Giants 12

Brice Turang hit two home runs as Milwaukee emerged victorious in a seven-run comeback against host San Francisco in the highest-scoring bout of spring training in Phoenix.

Turang and Jesus Made were the only multi-hit batters for the Brewers, who were down by two runs as they entered the bottom of the ninth. Eddys Leonard and Freddy Zamora recorded one-run singles that set up Greg Jones for the game-winning sacrifice fly. Carlos Rodriguez allowed one run in his two-inning, two-strikeout start.

Harrison Bader smacked a three-run home run, Bryce Eldridge hit a two-run homer and Luis Matos hit a solo shot that propelled the Giants to an 8-1 lead. San Francisco had a more consistent day at the plate despite the loss and recorded four more hits. Starter Adrian Houser went two innings with three hits, including Matos’ home run.

Reds 3, White Sox 2

Two home runs were all it took for Cincinnati to overcome host Chicago in Glendale, Ariz.

Sal Stewart’s solo blast, quickly followed by a two-run homer from JJ Bleday, were enough to seize a victory. Nick Lodolo, who started 28 games for the Reds last season, provided a strong two-inning, two-hit outing that featured four of Cincinnati’s 12 strikeouts.

Colson Montgomery’s solo shot in the top of the fourth was the only White Sox sign of life until a Dustin Harris one-run double in the bottom of the ninth. The next two batters struck out swinging to end the game. Jonathan Cannon pitched three clean innings with one strikeout.

Padres 7, Angels 3

High-scoring innings in the sixth and eighth lifted host San Diego over Los Angeles in Peoria, Ariz.

Newcomer Nick Castellanos and Pablo Reyes scored via walks before the bats ignited, highlighted by a Mason McCoy two-run double in the eighth that pushed the Padres’ lead to four. Michael King allowed one run and two hits in his 2 2/3 innings, with four strikeouts.

Los Angeles only scored by way of the deep shot, which began with Christian Moore in the third inning, followed by Jo Adell and Omar Martinez in the seventh. George Klassen pitched a strong two innings with three strikeouts for the Angels, who struck out 14 times at the plate.

Rangers 11, Guardians 4

Aaron Zavala hit two home runs as Texas put on an insurmountable offensive performance against host Cleveland in Goodyear, Ariz.

Sam Haggerty recorded an RBI for the third game in a row, in a fourth inning that featured two bases-loaded walks and a run-scoring wild pitch. Two-time All-Star Nathan Eovaldi went 2 2/3 innings with a two-hit, four-strikeout stat line.

Jose Ramirez hit a home run for the second game in a row, followed by Wuilfredo Antunez and Juan Benjamin’s run-scoring hits in the sixth. Slade Cecconi pitched two scoreless innings and gave up three hits.

Mariners 8, Royals 8

Seattle’s Connor Joe blasted a game-tying two-run homer that cemented a draw with host Kansas City in Surprise, Ariz.

Seattle totaled three home runs, including a Jakson Reetz three-run bomb and a Brennen Davis solo shot. The Mariners tallied 13 hits, with Davis adding two doubles on a 3-for-3 night. Bryan Woo was pulled after 1 1/3 innings, allowing two hits and one run.

Gavin Cross highlighted the Royals’ dugout with a three-run moonshot. Noah Cameron yielded one hit and pitched two strikeouts through two innings.

Rockies 14, Cubs 7

Colorado accumulated five home runs to pull away from a near-comeback by host Chicago in Mesa, Ariz.

Two deep shots from T.J. Rumfield and one apiece from Mickey Moniak and Ezequiel Tovar in a five-inning span created a 9-0 Colorado lead. Kyle McCann’s two-run homer capped off a 16-hit day for the Rockies. Reliever Antonio Senzatela went three innings with one hit and three strikeouts.

The fifth and sixth innings produced all seven runs for Chicago, which brought the Cubs within two. Leonel Espinoza went 2-for-2 at the plate, which included a one-run double. Jameson Taillon made his second start for Chicago, where he allowed three runs for the second time in his two-inning stint.

Dodgers 6, Diamondbacks 4

Arizona could not overcome a large lead against visiting Los Angeles in Scottsdale, Ariz.

While the Dodgers couldn’t find much success at the plate (seven hits), multiple scores on RBI walks and a two-run throwing error lifted Los Angeles to a six-run lead by the seventh inning. Roki Sasaki made his first mound appearance, where he pitched three strikeouts, but allowed three runs through 1 1/3 innings.

Pavin Smith, Tim Tawa and Jose Fernandez went yard for Arizona, who had more productive day at bat with 13 hits. Starter Zac Gallen made his first mound appearance as well since re-signing with the team on Feb. 15, and pitched two strikeouts through one inning.

–Field Level Media

Aidan Shaw scored on a put-back with five-tenths of a second to play to help Boston College end an eight-game losing streak by beating visiting Wake Forest 68-67 in an ACC matchup Wednesday night.

Shaw’s basket came after a Juke Harris 3-pointer put Wake Forest up 67-66 with 18 seconds to play. Boston College intercepted the in-bounds pass following Shaw’s go-ahead basket.

Fred Payne led Boston College (10-18, 3-12 ACC) with 23 points. Boden Kapke added 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Shaw finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.

Harris scored a career-high 38 points for Wake Forest, which trailed by five points with 33 seconds to play. Harris made 6 of 12 3-point attempts, including two in the final 25 seconds. The Demon Deacons (14-14, 5-10 ACC) received four points and 11 rebounds from Tre’Von Spillers.

Wake Forest point guard Nate Calmese left the game when he rolled his left ankle with 5:30 left in the first half. An injury to his right ankle prevented Calmese from playing in Wake Forest’s last six games.

Boston College guard Donald Hand returned to action after missing three games with a leg injury. Hand, who entered the game averaging 13.8 points per contest, scored five points in the first half but did not enter the game after halftime.

An 11-0 run gave Wake Forest a 19-13 lead with 8:15 left in the first half. The Demon Deacons had a 29-22 halftime lead. Harris scored 19 points in the first 20 minutes, when BC was 1 of 15 from 3-point territory.

Boston College began the second half on a 14-1 spurt and led 36-30 following a Payne 3-pointer with 15:59 to play. The Eagles pushed their lead to 11 points before the Demon Deacons mounted a comeback.

The game was originally scheduled to be played Tuesday but was postponed by a snowstorm that hit the Boston area and forced Wake Forest to alter its travel plans.

–Field Level Media