The Nashville Predators earned two important points in a spicy overtime win thanks to goals by Nino Niederreiter and Matt Duchene, but the loss of Filip Forsberg to injury could put a dark cloud over the victory.
The Nashville Predators looked to get back to their pre-All Star break winning ways today against the 22-22-9 Philadelphia Flyers. The Preds headed to Wells Fargo Arena hoping for a better performance and a different result from Tuesday night's disappointing loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Head Coach John Hynes tweaked the lineup for today's game reuniting last season's fan favorite "Herd Line" of Tanner Jeannot, Colton Sissons, and Yakov Trenin and bringing Mark Jankowski into the lineup in place of Tommy Novak. Juuse Saros got the start in net for the Preds.
Game Recap
The Predators came out executing better than they did through their previous game, but neither team generated many offensive chances through the opening stretch of the first period. Mark Jankowski, in his first game back since January 11, had Nashville's best chance early but hit the post.
Offense sputtered for both teams through the middle of the first, and the Predators went seven minutes without a shot on goal. Nashville had time in the offensive zone, but the shots went wide of the net or the Flyers blocked the attempts. Both goaltenders came up with big saves as the period wound down to keep the game scoreless.
With less than a minute to go each team recorded another quality chance with no success. As time wound down, Filip Forsberg landed hard on the ice and was tended to by the medical staff before being helped off the ice by his teammates and heading down the tunnel. The period ended with no score but a noticeable spike in temperature after the hit on Forsberg.
Jeannot dropped the gloves with Nicolas Deslauriers as the second period began, and the two headed to the penalty box for five minutes. Nino Niederreiter stepped into Forsberg's spot with Glass and Duchene and got the Predators on the board with a tip in past Carter Hart at 1:43.
Nashville got their first chance on the power play at 5:02 as Cam York was called for a hold on Cole Smith. The Predators power play units made adjustments around the absence of Forsberg but couldn't generate any chances, and the teams returned to five a side.
Just as Nashville seemed to be picking up the pace, the puck squirted out of a board battle in the neutral zone to Kevin Hayes. Hayes beat Saros on the breakaway to tie the score at 10:40.
Temperatures boiled over once against as Joel Farabee took exception to a hit by Juuso Pärssinen and the two dropped the gloves. Pärssinen's first NHL fight was short, and the two headed to their respective penalty boxes for five minutes.
As the period wound down, the Preds spent extended time in front of Carter Hart but couldn't get the puck through traffic to capitalize. The teams headed to the second intermission with the Flyers leading in shots on goal 17-14 but the score tied 1-1.
Nashville got two early shots on goal in the first minute of the third period, but Hart handled one and the post managed to thwart the other shot attempt. The Predators managed more extended offensive zone time but didn't capitalize early.
The Flyers defense was tested as Nashville increased the pressure offensively through the first half of the period, but Philly was able to clog up lanes and Hart managed anything that squirted through. Nashville continued to dominate possession, but a stretch pass to Kevin Hayes gave Philadelphia their best chance on a breakaway. Saros made the glove save and corralled the follow up chances to keep the game tied.
As time would down, the Flyers got two more quality chances but Saros thwarted the attempts and the game went to overtime. It took less than a minute for Matt Duchene to send the puck past Carter Hart and give the Predators a 2-1 win.
Game Notes
1. The Filip Forsberg injury may change the trajectory of Nashville's season. Forsberg is the Predators' leading goal scorer and headed into today's game tied with Roman Josi for points leader. If Forsberg misses an extended period of time, the Preds would be hard pressed to replace his contributions.
2. The Preds need to find a way to get pucks on net. Philadelphia did a great job blocking shots, but Nashville has to find ways to get the puck through traffic and create second chance scoring opportunities.
3. This is an important win for the Predators. It isn't that Philly is a top team in the league, but Nashville needed to dig deep to pull out this game. Two points and the overtime win could be a helpful reset now and provide valuable points down the stretch for the Preds.