Jake Oettinger outplayed a tired Preds offense in a disappointing loss at Bridgestone Arena.
In the first home game of the season, the Nashville Predators welcomed central division rival Dallas Stars to Bridgestone Arena. This was the Stars' first game of the 2022-2023 regular season. Nashville entered the contest 2-0 after winning back to back games against San Jose at the Global Series.
Head coach John Hynes drew from a wide pool of talent for tonight's lineup. The biggest question in regards to forward lines was who would slot in with Ryan Johansen and Nino Niederreiter on the second line. Eeli Tolvanen earned the start there, and Kiefer Sherwood slotted in on the fourth line with Cole Smith. Michael McCarron centered that third line in place of Cody Glass who missed the game due to illness. Mark Borowiecki got the start on the third defensive pairing with Dante Fabbro. Last season's Vezina finalist Juuse Saros started in net for the Preds.
This was the first game of the season for the Stars and the first game under new head coach Pete DeBoer. DeBoer's team looked a little different tonight without defenseman John Klingberg and with the notable addition of Mason Marchment, a former Florida Panther. Young Jason Robertson finally skated with his teammates after sitting out the preseason waiting for a contract to be finalized. Jake Oettinger took his place in net.
Game Recap
Nashville started with a flurry of offensive pressure, but ultimately Mason Marchment got the Stars on the board first with a breakaway shot at 2:31. The goal threw Nashville off their game through the first half of the period. The Preds eventually got their forechecking, puck possessing groove back, but penalties interrupted five on five play. Miro Heiskanen was called for a trip at 7:54. Later, Yakov Trenin earned the retaliation penalty after a hit and Tanner Jeannot dropped the gloves with Jani Hakanpaa in defense of his line mate. The three sat out two minutes at 13:51. Neither team capitalized on a man advantage until Nashville got caught with too many men on the ice at 18:03 and Marchment scored his second of the period on the power play.
The Predators needed a reset after a messy first period, and they begin the second period with slightly better puck possession but not enough offensive chances. Nashville struggled to connect on passes and transitions through the neutral zone were sloppy. Nashville played two minutes shorthanded as Eeli Tolvanen was called for elbowing at 12:14 after a center ice collision. Dallas peppered the net, but Saros kept the puck out of the net, and the teams returned to even strength. Nashville got their man advantage opportunity on a hooking call at 15:06. Despite several good looks, the Preds couldn't make anything happen. With less than a minute to go in the period, Joe Pavelski corralled a loose puck near the net and put Dallas up 3-0.
Early in the third period, Ryan Johansen drew a tripping penalty giving Nashville another chance on the power play. The Preds' power play was ineffective and with :17 left in the power play, Alexandre Carrier committed a holding penalty giving the Stars their turn on the power play. Dallas added their fourth goal and the first career goal for young Wyatt Johnston off the Carrier infraction.
Nashville was able to answer back just :31 seconds later as Ryan Johansen tipped a Tolvanen shot past Oettinger giving Nashville their first goal of the game at 4:53. The first Preds goal shifted momentum in Nashville's favor, but another wasted power play opportunity by the Preds drained the energy out of the team and the arena. A cross check from Jani Hakanpaa provided the Preds one last chance with less than two minutes to play. Juuse Saros abandoned the net in favor of the extra attacker, but it was too little too late. The Predators dropped the home opener 4-1.
Game Notes
Nashville looked jet lagged. Even when the Preds were able to chase down the puck, they struggled do anything with it. There wasn't a player in gold who appeared on top of his game at any point in the sixty minutes, including Juuse Saros.
The new guys may take the hit, but the veterans don't deserve a free pass. With a handful of depth players to toss in the lineup, John Hynes is likely to switch up the roster before Saturday's game. While the fourth line players like Cole Smith and Kiefer Sherwood could face repercussions from this poor performance, they will be sacrificial lambs for an overall team failure.
It was too much work to crawl back into a game when the team appeared fatigued. That is no excuse - Nashville should have been better prepared for this game regardless of the Global Series travel. Whether Hynes and the players will agree that fatigue was a factor remains to be seen, but allowing Dallas to get a multi-goal lead early cursed the Preds with a home opener loss.
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