Cody Glass, Dante Fabbro score, but the Predators' power play failure sinks Preds as Draisaitl again owns Nashville.
The Predators welcomed the Edmonton Oilers to Bridgestone Arena for the second game of Nashville's back to back. Last night the Preds struggled offensively against the St. Louis Blues and lost the game 1-0 in overtime.
After the lackluster showing in St. Louis Head Coach John Hynes adjusted the line up slightly hoping to ignite some sort of offensive spark.
Kevin Lankinen got the start in net tonight for the Predators. The Preds played again without four of their original defensemen. Jordan Gross, Kevin Gravel, and Roland McKeown stepped up last night against the Blues, but the Edmonton Oilers' boast the best goal scorer in the league, Connor McDavid.
McDavid has twelve points in his last five games, and half of those were goals. McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have combined for 22 of the league's top power play goals so far this season. Jack Campbell got the start in net for Edmonton.
Game Recap
Cody Glass got the Predators on the board early with a goal from the point at 1:15. Nashville kept up with the Oilers speed early and got a few shots on Jack Campbell, but the Oilers were able to tie the game at 8:19 with a tip in goal by Zach Hyman.
Nashville generated more chances in the second half of the opening period, but a scramble in front of the net gave Hyman his second goal as he reached in to push the puck past a sprawled Dante Fabbro. A questionable hooking call on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins gave Nashville a chance to redeem themselves on the anemic power play. The Preds got four shots on net, but shouldn't get a goal on the man advantage.
Conversely, the Oilers capitalized on their end of the period power play when Tanner Jeannot headed to the box for roughing at 18:58. With :05 remaining in the period, Leon Draisaitl scored and the Preds headed to the locker room down 3-1.
The second period opened with more Edmonton offensive zone time, but it was Nashville's Ryan Johansen that scored first.Filip Forsberg sent a nice cross ice pass to Johansen at the circle who buried it at 3:22. There was little time to celebrate, as Leon Draisaitl answered back less than a minute later for his second goal of the game.
Nashville was granted another power play chance at 7:06 as Dylan Holloway interfered with Roland McKeown. The Preds got a few looks, but again the power play couldn't come up with a much needed goal.
Five on five resumed and aggressive play through the neutral zone by Yakov Trenin and a pass to Dante Fabbro resulted in a top shelf goal for Fabbro making the score 4-3.
The goal by Fabbro seemed to energize the Preds and they spent more time in from top Jack Campbell. Darnell Nurse bear hugged Cole Smith behind the net, and headed to the penalty box at 11:55, and Nashville's power play tried once again. Partway through the power play, Derek Ryan joined Nurse and the Preds had a five on three chance. Nashville got a few good looks, but even with that golden opportunity, the power play did not convert.
With less than two minutes in the second, McKeown was called for a trip after a neutral zone scrum, and the Oilers power play set up again. Connor McDavid sliced through the penalty kill like a hot knife through butter and scored almost immediately to give Edmonton a two goal lead again.
The final period opened with more offensive pressure by Nashville at five on five. Fabbro drew a high sticking penalty at 3:49, but it was another frustrating two minutes with no return for the Preds.
Five on five play took the teams up and down the ice as they exchanged shots and chances while the third wound down. Kevin Lankinen headed to the bench with 3:06 remaining to give Nashville the extra attacker. A chase for the puck resulted in an empty net goal for Zach Hyman, giving him his first career hat trick. The buzzer sounded, and the Oilers got the win over Nashville with a final score of 6-3.
Game Notes
1. The Predators power play generated chances, but chances aren't goals. The team changed up personnel, created more movement, and had a handful of good looks on the man advantage, but the Preds' inability to convert will continue to doom the team if they can't turn it around.
2. Tonight was another game without a goal from Forsberg, Duchene, or Josi. The depth players contributed to the final score tonight, but these three are significantly underproducing when it comes to goals. The Predators are not going to get the wins they need until these three step up offensively.
3. Special teams decided this game. The Predators did a good job at five on five play, but Nashville's inability to convert on the power play or their five on three chance and the Oilers quick scores on their man advantage swung the momentum and determined the outcome.