Roman Josi, Jeremy Lauzon, and Filip Forsberg scored, but Juuse Saros stole this win with another sixty minutes of exceptional goaltending.
After two big road wins on a five game road trip, the Nashville Predators faced off tonight against the Ottawa Senators. The Senators added veterans Clause Giroux, Alex Debrincat, and goaltender Cam Talbot to a talented young core that includes Time Stultzle, Shane Pinto, and Jake Sanderson, but the combination of experience and youth has only resulted in a record of 18-18-3 so far this season.
Nashville entered the game after wins over Carolina and Washington, but the Preds still have a hill to climb to be back in the postseason conversation. The Predators have seen improvement in special teams and offensive production over the last few weeks, but tonight would be a test of clean execution and defense against Ottawa's top scorers and impressive special teams.
Game Recap
The Senators began the game with an early advantage of zone time and shots on goal, but Nashville got the first chance on the power play at 7:27 as Claude Giroux was called for holding. The Preds power play faced one of the top penalty kills in the league. The first unit had several looks, but once the puck was cleared the second unit struggled to set up, and the two minutes expired.
Jeremy Lauzon returned the favor, heading to the box for interference at 10:37, and the Senators' potent power play took their turn. Ottawa moved the puck well on the man advantage, but Nashville survived the power play. The physicality rose as the teams returned to five a side.
A turnover in the neutral zone resulted in a Nino Niederreiter pass to Roman Josi, and the captain opened the scoring at 14:29. Just :32 seconds later, Nashville scored again. It appeared Tanner Jeannot had broken his scoring drought with a greasy wraparound goal, but Jeremy Lauzon was the last to touch the puck before it slipped past Talbot.
A goal by Brady Tkachuk was taken off the board after a Nashville offside challenge was upheld. The Senators pushed to get back on the scoreboard as the period would down, but the period ended with a 2-0 score and a scrum as time expired.
The scrum at the end of the first period landed Juuso Parssinen and Brady Tkachuk in their respective penalty boxes, and the second period began with four on four play. A two on one chance gave Nashville a brief 3-0 lead, but the Senators successfully challenged for offside. The teams returned to five a side with a score of 2-0.
Yakov Trenin drew a holding penalty at 3:10. Nashville's power play took the ice for the second time. Ottawa's penalty kill handled the two minutes easily. Five on five play was briefly interrupted by a fight between Tanner Jeannot and Mark Kastelik at 5:32.
The teams played a long stretch through the middle of the period without a whistle, but a tripping penalty committed by Yakov Trenin paused play and gave Ottawa their second chance on the power play. Again Ottawa pressured, but Juuse Saros made key saves. The Preds survived the two minutes.
Roman Josi was tripped by Drake Batherson at 17:06, and the Preds went to work on their third power play chance. Nashville pressured through the two minutes and create good chances, but didn't find the back of the net. The power play and period expired with the score still 2-0.
The Predators started the final period with sloppy play that gave Ottawa several good chances. Jeremy Lauzon headed to the penalty box at 2:33 for interference, and the Senators' power play went back to work. Again, Ottawa pressured through the two minutes, but Saros shut down their chances. As soon as the penalty expired, Nashville went on the power play compliments of a crosscheck by Derick Brassard. The Preds took their turn pressuring Cam Talbot, but the goaltender held fast.
Filip Forsberg gave Nashville a three goal lead on a two on one chance with Juuse Parssinen. Forsberg took the shot himself and slipped it past Talbot at 7:30.
Jeremy Lauzon headed back to the penalty box to triple check for snacks at 9:58 allowing the Senators yet another man advantage opportunity. Saros again handled the chances Ottawa threw on net for the 120 seconds.
Very shortly after the Preds returned to full strength, Lauzon went back for a fourth time to the sin bin for roughing. It was another repeat of power play pressure on Saros, but fortunately for Nashville they once again survived.
With a little over two minutes remaining, the Senators went empty net. Again, Saros was peppered with the extra attacker on. With :32 remaining, Ottawa committed a slash to prevent a chance by Mikael Granlund. Nashville finished the game on the power play. Juuse Saros earned the shut out, and Nashville earned two valuable points with the 3-0 win over the Senators.
Game Notes
1. This was a fast game. It usually doesn't bode well for the Predators when they play a fast team, but tonight they were able to survive and at times keep pace well with the Senators' speed.
2. Juuse Saros won this game for Nashville. The amount of pressure he faced from one of the top power play units in the league was immense, but Saros was an absolute rock for the Preds.
3. Nashville needs to clean up their game before they face Toronto on Wednesday. The Preds committed too many penalties and played sloppy for stretches, but they found a way to win tonight. Toronto is too good to allow that many mistakes and not make the Predators pay.