Nashville Predators lineup vs. Carolina, Shane Wright to Debut

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Nashville Predators celebrating a goal against the Minnesota Wild on October 1, 2026.

The Nashville Predators will conclude their five-game homestand tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes. It’s the first time the defending Stanley Cup Champions are in town.

Head coach Andrew Brunette understands that tonight will be a tough task for his group against arguably the best team in the NHL.

“I think they’ve got a lot of momentum after winning the Cup last year,” Brunette said. “They seem to be steamrolling everybody. So, it’s going to be a really big challenge for us here at home ice, and we have to be ready to skate. They’re the type of team that will expose the things that you don’t do well. If we’re not moving, it’s going to accelerate that exposure.”

In terms of who Brunette will trot out tonight against the Hurricanes, he didn’t confirm if defenseman Nicolas Hague will be back in the lineup after being a scratch on Saturday night.

“We’re not sure about tonight. Take him out here for a game, and if he doesn’t get in tonight, I think the guys that played last game will play a strong game. He’ll get his opportunity, but I think resetting him here is our game plan as a staff right now,” Brunette said.

The bench boss also added that forward Jonathan Marchessault is a game-time decision tonight against the Hurricanes. Marchessault has played every game to this point and had a maintenance day on Monday.

Should the Predators not have Marchessault or Hague in the lineup, that could mean that forward Vitali Pinchuk would play and Daemon Hunt would stay alongside Jayden Struble on the third pairing.

Shane Wright to make Predators debut

After being traded from the Seattle Kraken for forward Matthew Wood, the Predators will see Shane Wright make his debut in a gold sweater tonight.

Wright was the fourth overall pick in 2022 and didn’t earn a top-six role with the Kraken and played under three different head coaches during his time there.

The 22-year-old had roughly three hours to get on a direct flight to Nashville after learning he had been traded. It came as a shock to him, and he’s had a short amount of time to get acclimated to Nashville’s game plan.

“I want to play fast, I want to move my feet, and I want to pressure [the opposition] and make it hard on them. Turn pucks over and transition quick,” Wright told Lower Broad Hockey. “Hopefully, want to bring a lot of offense. I want to bring a lot of speed and energy to the game.”

Wright will likely be alongside Filip Forsberg and Nils Hoglander during his debut against the Hurricanes.