Niederreiter scores two, and the Predators come home from Prague with two wins to start the season.
After yesterday's solid performance in the first game of the Global Series and regular season, the Nashville Predators took the ice once again at O2 Arena in Prague against the San Jose Sharks.
Kevin Lankinen took a turn in net in the back to back for Nashville, and Jeremy Lauzon joined Dante Fabbro on the third defensive pairing in place of Mark Borowiecki. The rest of the Preds roster remained the same from game one. Kaapo Kahkonen started in net for the Sharks.
Game Recap
It was an inauspicious beginning to today's game with two penalties in the first three minutes of play. Tomas Hertl was called just :06 in and Yakov Trenin sat for an interference infraction three minutes later. The penalty kill for both teams was effective, and the game settled into five on five play.
At 13:09 Tanner Jeannot committed a hooking penalty, and the Sharks were able to capitalize. Former Predator Luke Kunin scored on the power play at 14:24. Nashville struggled to generate high danger chances in the opening period, and the teams headed to the locker room with the Sharks leading 1-0.
Nashville finally got on the board at 4:35 in the second period as Nino Niederreiter crashed the net and scored. The Preds barely had time to enjoy the tie before Logan Couture scored just :10 later to give the Sharks the lead again.
The scoring continued in the second period as Filip Forsberg cashed in on a wraparound chance at 6:29, and Nino Niederreiter scored his second goal of the game at 12:13 off of a fantastic pass from Eeli Tolvanen. Nashville had a chance on the power play after Jaycob Megna sat out for two minutes after interfering with Kiefer Sherwood, but the Preds couldn't capitalize. Nashville took a 3-2 lead into the second intermission.
Hynes adjusted the lines in the final period keeping Tolvanen with Niederreiter and Johansen and sliding Sherwood into a spot further down the lineup. Each team had a power play chance in the third but neither converted. Nashville spent much of the third period in the defensive zone, unable to generate much in the way of offensive threats despite only having a one goal lead.
With 2:24 remaining in the game, the Sharks pulled Kahkonen and played a man up. The Sharks pressured relentlessly, but Kevin Lankinen came up with several huge saves in the final minute to protect the win. Nashville leaves Prague with four points from the Global Series.
Game Notes
Any Preds fans underwhelmed by the Niederreiter signing this offseason are surely rethinking their hesitation. David Poile signed Niederreiter in hopes that the hard hitting forward could jump start a stale second line, and the Swiss winger has looked outstanding. The chemistry between Johansen and Niederreiter, who played together in juniors, was near instantaneous in preseason and carried over in the Global Series games. Niederreiter has three goals in two games all while seamlessly meshing his style with Predators identity hockey.
Don't write off Eeli Tolvanen. That second line that Niederreiter was brought in to fix? That's where Tolvanen struggled last season. It wasn't clear how head coach John Hynes saw Tolvanen fitting into this season's roster after several healthy scratches last season and a number of fresh faces getting much of Hynes' attention in training camp. While Tolvanen struggled to score last season, his 200 foot game benefited the Preds when he was on the ice. He hasn't lost any of that hockey IQ and physicality this season, and with a goal and a gorgeous assist in the first two games, Tolvy earned himself some time back on the second line partway through this game. Regardless of where he ends up, this may be the season Tolvanen puts it all together.
Increase quality of power play and decrease quantity of penalty kills, please. Nashville has a few more weapons on the power play this season with Nino Niederreiter and Cody Glass, but the team didn't take advantage of the man advantage in 7 chances. The condensed preseason may have limited the attention special teams got, but Nashville has to convert on the power play and limit the number of times they play a man down. While the Sharks only converted on one of eight opportunities in these first two games, there are plenty of teams who will take better advantage of sloppy penalties.
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Predators --4, Sharks - 1: Sherwood, Niederreiter Make Most of Preds Debut