Home sweet home ice? For Vegas, maybe. Nashville, not so much lately.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights return home to their “Fortress” on the Strip looking to avoid being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs after losing three in a row to Dallas. The Predators are back in “Smashville” trailing Vancouver 3-2 in that best-of-seven series.

Vegas went 9-3 at home on its title run last year. Nashville hasn’t won at home in the playoffs since 2021. The challenge for each team is the same: win Friday night and force a deciding Game 7 this weekend.

“That’s something we’re certainly capable of,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “It’s not this obstacle that we can’t do. It’s a home win, so let’s get after it.”

CANUCKS at PREDATORS, Vancouver leads 3-2, 7 p.m. EDT (TNT)

The Predators have lost five in a row in the postseason at Bridgestone Arena dating to a first-round exit four years ago against Carolina. They blew a two-goal lead in the final three minutes of Game 4 this series, despite fans bringing and slinging catfish in the Music City hockey tradition.