The Nashville Predators look to exact a bit of revenge against the Dallas Stars on Saturday when the Central Division rivals collide in Music City.

The Predators, after all, lost the final three contests to Dallas to fall in six games of the teams' first-round playoff series in the spring.

While Nashville's players can't help but lament what happened months ago, they are also looking forward to the start of next month when they visit the Stars in the 2020 Winter Classic at the Cotton Bowl Stadium.

"There's a little bit more (urge for revenge), just with (the) playoff series last year and kind of where everything sits in the standings," Predators forward Austin Watson said. "They're a team that's ahead of us, and we've got an opportunity to take two points away from them in a head-to-head game.

"And then with the Winter Classic and it being our first meeting of the year, it's a big game for us (on Saturday)."

Ryan Johansen scored in his second straight game on Thursday, but Nashville did not have an answer for the red-hot Jack Eichel and dropped a 4-3 decision to Buffalo on Thursday. The Predators had won two in a row and secured a point in seven of its eight games (5-1-2) prior to the setback.

"We've definitely been taking strides to be a consistent winning club again, so taking a step back (Thursday) is frustrating," Johansen said.

Johansen would like to atone for his performance in the first-round series in April, as he mustered just two points (one goal, one assist) after recording team-leading totals in assists (50) and points (64) during the regular season.

Goalie Pekka Rinne likely will get the nod for Nashville on Saturday. The former Vezina Trophy recipient saw his season come to an end last spring despite a sterling 49-save performance in a 2-1 overtime loss at Dallas on April 22.

The Stars enter the rematch after seeing their three-game winning streak halted with a 3-2 overtime loss against the visiting Vegas Golden Knights on Friday.

Dallas captain Jamie Benn deflected a return pass from linemate Tyler Seguin past Malcolm Subban to forge a tie with 5:11 remaining in the third period. The goal was Benn's seventh of the season and second in four games.

Benn flustered Nashville during the first-round series in the spring, highlighting his six-point performance (one goal, five assists) by setting up three goals in Dallas' 5-3 win in Game 5.

Offensive-minded defenseman John Klingberg was excused from Friday's game for personal reasons. Taylor Fedun, who scored in his absence, would draw back into the lineup if Klingberg is unable to Saturday.

"It's huge. You can't understate that," the 31-year-old Fedun said of facing the Predators. "We've been building a rivalry with them, and I think it gets better and better every year, the way things ended in the playoffs for them last year.

"We've got the big game on New Year's Day this year, so I think it's important for us to get our rest while we can tonight and then put our best foot forward (Saturday) and start off this rivalry right."

--Field Level Media