Getty Morgan Geekie and Ryan Donato of the Seattle Kraken.
The Nashville Predators will open their 2021-22 season on Thursday when they host the Seattle Kraken.
The game (8 p.m. ET start time) will be televised on Bally Sports South for those who live in the Predators market, Root Sports Northwest for those who live in the Kraken market and NHL Network for everyone out of market in the United States.
If you don’t have cable, here’s a full rundown of how you can watch a live stream of the Kraken vs Predators in the US:
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FuboTV
Note: This option is for viewers in the Kraken market, and for viewers out of market
You can watch a live stream of Root Sports Northwest (live in local markets), NHL Network and 100-plus other live TV channels on FuboTV. Root Sports is included in the main channel package, and NHL Network is in the “Sports Plus” add-on, both of which can be included in your free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch the Kraken vs Predators live on the FuboTV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the FuboTV website.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV also comes with 250 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch most games on-demand within three days of their conclusion, even if you don’t record them.
DirecTV Stream
Note: This option is for viewers in the Predators market, and for viewers out of market
DirecTV Stream (formerly AT&T TV) has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” Bally Sports South (live in local markets) is included in “Choice” and up, while NHL Network is in “Ultimate” and up.
You can sign up right here:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch the Kraken vs Predators live on the DirecTV Stream app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the DirecTV Stream website.
If you can’t watch live, DirecTV Stream also comes with 20 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours).
Kraken vs Predators Preview
The Kraken faltered in the franchise’s first-ever regular season test, succumbing to the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in Nevada on Tuesday.
“We will take a lot of good things we did and build on them,” Seattle head coach Dave Hakstol said afterward, according to the team’s official website. “We will try to fix one or two things but no more. We have short practice tomorrow, then get on a plane to get ready for Game 2 in Nashville.”
The Golden Knights jumped out to a 3-0 advantage about seven minutes into the first half; Kraken center Morgan Geekie acknowledged his side had to overcome nerves early in the expansion team’s maiden contest.
“Yeah, definitely, 100 percent,” he said, according to The Associated Press. “Obviously, you come into Vegas and it’s a spectacular city and they put on quite a show.”
The Kraken responded in short order, however. Ryan Donato notched the franchise’s first goal five minutes after falling into the 3-goal hole, and fellow center Jared McCann halved the deficit just 72 seconds after that.
Geekie evened things up about eight minutes into the final period, but the Knights found the back of the net less than a minute later for what’d hold up as the game-winner.
“I think it kind of speaks to our character as a team,” Geekie said of the late push, per AP. “We knew they were a good team coming in here, and they kind of paved the way. But I like the way we brought tonight, and I think we got better as the game went on.”
The Predators rode a solid defense to a 31-23-2 mark and a playoff berth a season ago before bowing out against the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round.
Though only eight teams surrendered fewer goals than Nashville did in 2020-21, the Predators ranked 20th in scoring, a struggle exacerbated by star center Filip Forsberg’s missing 17 games.
On Wednesday, the Predators announced they’d inked defenseman Mattias Ekholm to four-year, $25 million extension that will kick in next year.
“We have a group of young, right-shot defensemen that includes Alexandre Carrier, Philippe Myers, Dante Fabbro and Matt Benning who all have the opportunity to learn from and play with Mattias on the side opposite him, and we’re excited about the stability that will provide us on the blue line,” Nashville general manager David Poile said, per AP.
Ekholm, now 31, debuted with the Predators in 2011 and has been with the team since. In 586 career games, he’s notched 219 points (51 goals, 168 assists).
“Nashville is home for us,” the Swede said, per AP. “It’s where we want to be. I believe in the future of this team and I’m looking forward to the chance at competing for the Stanley Cup here in the next five seasons.”