The Nashville Predators outshot the Philadelphia Flyers 33-18 but scored only one goal for their third straight loss.
Oct 30, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar (80) allows goal by Nashville Predators right wing Matthew Wood (71) (not pictured) during the second period at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
What will it take to get the Nashville Predators to score?
Head coach Andrew Brunette and his team are no doubt banging their heads against the wall trying to find answers after another loss that yielded only one goal, this time a 4-1 defeat in Philadelphia against the Flyers.
Trevor Zegras scored two goals and added an assist, while Jamie Drysdale and Travis Konecny (empty-netter) each lit the lamp for Philly.
Matthew Wood, who notched his first career NHL goal, was the only player to score for Nashville.
“It was a great effort, we played really well but didn’t get the result,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette told the media following the loss. “I think we're all a little bit frustrated over it, but we’ve got to go through this. Every team does, and it's how we handle ourselves fighting through this."
Juuse Saros stopped 14 of 17 shots, uncharacteristically letting one goal in between his legs. But it was once again a failure by the Preds offense to get the puck in the net despite outshooting Philly 33-18 that did the real damage at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
It was the first of two meetings in the span of a week between the two teams; the Flyers will visit Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 6.
Zegras, who came over from the Anaheim Ducks, put Philly on the board first at the 12:15 mark. Nashville had a 20-10 shot advantage but the Flyers were first to put the puck in the net.
Jamie Drysdale extended the Flyers’ lead to 2-0 at 15:41, putting a shot between Saros’ legs. Matvei Michkov and Zegras recorded assists.
Then at 18:03 of the middle frame, Matthew Wood finally got his first NHL goal after 11 career games with the Preds spanning parts of this season and last to cut the margin to 2-1.
“It was a great play by my linemates," Wood said of finally getting his first career NHL goal. "Kind of a little relief, but a lot of joy. I’m just really fortunate to have that opportunity, and fortunate to have great people to have gotten me to this point.”
Zegras added his second goal at the 7:00 mark, then Konecny added his empty-netter at 15:54 for the 4-1 final, dropping the Preds' record to 4-6-2.
Here are three takeaways from Thursday's action.
The Preds Played More To Their Identity,But Still Have Nothing To Show For It
In the previous 11 games, the Predators typically fit into one of two categories: they either had a strong start and fizzled out, or vice versa.
On this night, they came out looking fresh and ready to take charge. They outshot Philly 10-3 in the opening frame and 19-4 through 20 minutes-plus. However, Philly netminder Dan Vladar was up to the task.
The Preds controlled the puck well and spent more time in the offensive zone in the first half of the game. The question after the first 20 minutes was: could they keep this up for two more periods without running out of gas?
They did in almost every way, except on the scoreboard. After the Preds held a 20-10 shots-on-goal advantage through the first 27 minutes, Trevor Zegras got the game's first goal. The former Anaheim Duck came into the game tied with Sean Couturier for the team lead with nine points. He scored two goals and recorded an assist, while Drysdale and Konecny added salt into the Preds' wounds.
“Another tough loss, disappointing,” Preds Alternate Captain Ryan O’Reilly said. “Opportunities could have been different, but it’s the way it’s going right now."
The Preds Cut Down The Senseless Penalties
Earlier this week, Preds coach Andrew Brunette called out some of his players for taking what he called "senseless" penalties, even naming Erik Haula as one of the main culprits.
On Thursday, the Preds did a much better job of keeping out of the sin bin, accumulating four penalty minutes, all in the third period.
Unfortunately, one of those led to a Philly power-play goal that gave the Flyers a 3-1 lead.
After Nic Hague went off for hooking Rodrigo Abols at 6:57 of the final frame, Zegras scored his second goal of the night.
The Preds' power play, however, continues to struggle, going 0-for-2 in the game. It continues to be one of the many factors in the team's struggles on offense: too much passing, not enough shooting with the man advantage.
Stamkos Gets Switched Again
Preds head coach Andrew Brunette has tried everything short of hypnosis to get Steven Stamkos going.
Prior to the Preds' 3-2 loss to Dallas last Sunday, Brunette inserted Stamkos at center for the next two games, scratching Fedor Svechkov.
Against Philly, Brunette put Svechkov back at center and moved Stamkos to left wing.
Nothing seems to be working. Stamkos still has just one goal through 12 games, and it almost seems that he's not comfortable no matter where he is on the ice.
Could a healthy scratch or two be in the near future? That may sound ludicrous considering His $32 million contract, but almost anything is worth trying.
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