Nashville is a place where the fun and unexpected happens. On Thursday night, a familiar face to the Music City unexpectedly had fun.
The Nashville Predators welcomed the Dallas Stars to town, and the Stars slapped the home team around, winning 9-2. In the victory, former Predator Matt Duchene continued his hot streak, scoring a pair of goals, giving him six points in three games.
On top of that, Duchene had a little extra excitement after the game. He hit up Broadway, performing a set at Tootsies, a popular establishment just across the street from Bridgestone Arena.
Duchene’s love for country music came from following his dad, Vince, to a number of gigs during his childhood, with Matt taking up playing as he grew older. His love and passion for the genre was bolstered when he signed a seven-year contract with the Predators in July 2019. He has rubbed shoulders with many country music stars, befriending Jake Owen and Thomas Rhett.
Thursday night was also a revenge game for Duchene. His time in Nashville was rocky, as the team struggled to find past success while paying his $8 million cap hit. Duchene was eventually bought out after the 2022-23 campaign, just one season removed from scoring 86 points. He talked about how tough it was to leave a team that played in a city he enjoyed living in during a recent episode of Frankly Speaking.
The Haliburton, Ontario native signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Stars, and has played like his former self with a team looking to make a deep run in the playoffs. Through 53 games, Duchene was scored 21 goals and 31 assists, second on the team in scoring behind Jason Robertson.
In 1,029 games, Duchene has scored 337 goals and 459 assists, including 25 points in 32 games.
The Stars (34-14-6) have maneuvered their way to first in the Central Division, four points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche.
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