Nashville's power play stalls, Ivan Prosvetov stood tall in net for the Coyotes, and the Predators lose in regulation.
Nashville's power play stalls, Ivan Prosvetov stood tall in net for the Coyotes, and the Predators lose in regulation.
The Nashville Predators played their fourth game on this six game road trip tonight against the Arizona Coyotes at Mullet Arena in Tempe. The Predators welcomed back Phil Tomasino into the lineup after the 21 year old left Saturday's game against Chicago after taking a hard hit against the boards. Nashville was still without Filip Forsberg and Juuso Pärssinen who are both day to day with upper body injuries and Ryan Johansen is who expected to miss approximately 12 weeks.
Nashville saw an unfamiliar face in net for Arizona tonight. The usual goaltenders, Karel Vejmelka and Connor Ingram - both of whom were a part of the Predators organization at one time - sat out while Ivan Prosvetov was recalled from the AHL to start in net for the Coyotes. Nashville still had to face Lawson Crouse, Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz all of whom have performed well for Arizona this season especially against the Predators.
Game Recap
The game opened with a quick penalty less than a minute in committed by Nick Schmaltz, and the Predators went on the early power play. The Preds moved the puck well, but Prosvetov came up with two saves on the shots on net. After two minutes, the teams returned to full strength with no harm done.
Nashville got another chance on the man advantage at 4:18 on an Arizona holding call. A quick slash called against Cody Glass evened play at four on four and then the Coyotes played nearly a minute of their power play. Arizona couldn't score on their chance, and the teams returned to full strength with no score. The first score came at five on five play at 8:45 when Brett Ritchie tipped a shot past Saros.
The goal gave the Coyotes momentum and they swarmed around Saros and put a handful of shots on net. At 13:53, a Cole Smith slash gave Arizona a power play, but the Coyotes couldn't capitalize on the man advantage. The period ended with Arizona leading in shots on goal, time of possession, and by a score of 1-0.
The second period began with a power play opportunity for the Predators at 1:43, but again the Preds couldn't capitalize. Arizona came charging back after the two minutes to pressure Saros with several rapid shots on net. Nashville struggled to contain the speed and offensive pressure of the Coyotes as the teams battled through the middle period. Michael McCarron and Liam O'Brien dropped the gloves in a brief spat and both head to their respective locker rooms for the five minute worthy infractions.
As the period wound down, Nashville finally generated some quality chances and a bit of a spark, but they couldn't find the back of the net. With :24 seconds remaining, Connor Mackey committed a penalty, but the Predators spent too much time passing the puck. The period expired without Nashville getting a shot on net before the buzzer sounded.
Nashville started the final period with 1:36 remaining on the man advantage. Nashville struggled to set up in front of Prosvetov and another power play opportunity slipped away. Power play chance number four came at 5:31 compliments of a delay of game penalty on Connor Mackey, but the two minutes were again unproductive.
Yakov Trenin returned the favor with Mackey's same delay of game infraction as soon as the teams returned to full strength. The man advantage lasted a mere second as Mackey headed right back to the sin bin for a hold, and the teams played four on four. The extra ice didn't benefit either team.
When the teams returned to full strength, Cody Glass was called for a cross check. This time Arizona took advantage as Barrett Hayten tapped a rebound past Saros to give the Coyotes a two goal lead. Immediately after the power play goal, Jack McBain buried a puck that squirted past Saros.
With just over five minutes remaining in the game, Juuse Saros headed to the bench and the Predators attempted a late push. Finally Cody Glass cored at 18:00. Arizona answered back with an empty net goal with less than a minute remaining to make the final score 4-1.
Game Notes
1. Arizona dictated the pace of this game. The speed of Arizona's top line ran Nashville ragged early, and the Predators couldn't take control and set the tempo they wanted.
2. This was a "We're sorry, Saros" game. Pass the hat to buy Saros a fruit basket because this was another game where the team in front of Juuse didn't do enough to help their net minder out.
3. Special teams were...not so special. The Predators couldn't capitalize on five power play chances, committed too many penalties, and allowed a power play goal.
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