New faces Sherwood and Niederreiter show up and veteran goalie Juuse Saros shows off in an opening game win for the Predators.
The 2022-2023 NHL season kicked off with an incredible Global Series game in Prague between the Predators and the Sharks. After a condensed preseason, the teams took the ice to compete for two regular season points.
Game Recap
Nashville won the opening faceoff but it was San Jose's Timo Meier who recorded the first shot on goal of the game. Saros easily handled the early attempt, snagging his first save of the new season. Just a minute into the game, training camp standout Kiefer Sherwood made his first shot as a Predator count, finding the back of the net at 1:01.
Nashville's Achilles heel from last season stymied the momentum of Sherwood's goal as Ryan Johansen was called for a slashing penalty at 6:30. The Preds killed the two minutes but hometown hero Tomas Hertl scored right after the penalty expired to tie the game 1-1.
Less than three minutes later, Roman Josi headed to the box for a high stick. Nashville escaped the two minutes unscathed thanks to several vintage Saros saves, but the man advantage tipped the momentum in the Sharks favor. The Predators had a few high danger chances before the period ended but couldn't capitalize, and the teams headed to the first intermission tied 1-1.
Nashville started the second period just like they did the first - with a goal from a surprising source. Eeli Tolvanen struggled last season to find the back of the net but started the second period with a top shelf goal to shake off last season's bad vibes. The Predators took a 2-1 lead at 1:24.
Another sloppy penalty by the Preds gave San Jose another power play, but Nashville killed the two minutes effectively. Former Predator Matt Benning committed a delay of game penalty at 11:00, providing Nashville their first opportunity with the man advantage. The first unit generated a myriad of chances but Reimer finally corralled the puck and the power play expired.
Nino Niederreiter gave the Predators a two goal lead at 15:14 on a two on one chance. Kiefer Sherwood and Dante Fabbro earned assists on the Niederreiter goal. It looked like Ryan Johansen might extend the Predators' lead on a breakaway, but Reimer made his best save of the game on Johansen's chance. The second period ended with Nashville up 3-1.
The action in the final period revolved around penalties. Luke Kunin and Mikael Granlund entered the penalty box nearly simultaneously, but neither team capitalized on the four on four. Nashville had two more power play chances in the third but couldn't take advantage of the opportunities.
Saros and Reimer were each called on to make a handful of saves to keep the score static through the remainder of the period. The Sharks pulled Reimer with less than two minutes to play, and Matt Duchene scored an empty net goal to make the final score 4-1.
The Sharks and the Predators face off again tomorrow at 1:00 pm CT at O2 Arena.
Game Notes
Kiefer Sherwood answered the questions Preds fans asked about his place in the lineup. The assumption going into training camp positioned Phil Tomasino on the second line with Johansen and Niederreiter. Sherwood showed up this preseason ready to compete and earned the start playing top six minutes. It remains to be seen if Sherwood will be a permanent fixture on the second line, but his play today supports head coach John Hynes' decision to give him a shot in this game.
The fourth line may need to DTR ("define the relationship") because there is some serious chemistry there. Smith, Glass, and Tolvanen battled for a shot on a fourth line that was wide open at the beginning of training camp. The three played well individually, and even more importantly, as a line. Hynes may not be ready to carve their initials in a tree quite yet, but they each showed why they made the opening night roster.
Discipline and intensity are not mutually exclusive. Hynes preaches a hard to play against mentality, but the Predators have to be able to play that style of hockey with discipline. Nashville committed five penalties, none of which was a "must" to interrupt a scoring chance. It's only the first game of the season, but Predators fans may feel twitchy about the number of power play chances the team gave up. This is something that will need cleaning up as the Preds settle in for the season.
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