Ryan O'Reilly scores a hat trick, Tommy Novak and Filip Forsberg chip in goals, and Kevin Lankinen stopped all the five on five chances he faced in a strong Predators win over the Oilers.
Ryan O'Reilly scores a hat trick, Tommy Novak and Filip Forsberg chip in goals, and Kevin Lankinen stopped all the five on five chances he faced in a strong Predators win over the Oilers.
The Nashville Predators took the ice on Saturday afternoon in Edmonton for their second game against the Edmonton Oilers. The Predators lost their first game against Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the Oilers on October 17 by a score of 6-1.
The Predators enter the game with a 4-6 record and off a loss Thursday night against the Seattle Kraken. The team has been doing a lot right on the ice but not getting the results. Head coach Andrew Brunette gave the start to Kevin Lankinen and slotted Phil Tomasino back in the lineup in place of Samuel Fagemo. Marc Del Gaizo made his NHL debut in today's game playing with veteran Tyson Barrie.
The Oilers had plenty of success in their 6-1 win over the Predators but have struggled to start their season. Edmonton is 2-6-1 but still armed with plenty of weapons. Jack Campbell got the start in net this afternoon.
The first period opened with back and forth play between the teams. Marc Del Gaizo made a smart defensive play early to eliminate a cross ice pass in front of Kevin Lankinen and interrupt a quality chance by the Oilers.
At 9:36, Jeremy Lauzon headed to the penalty box for a holding penalty, and just :21 seconds later Darnell Nurse scored with a shot from the point that bounced off the post and into the net behind Lankinen to give Edmonton the 1-0 lead.
Nashville wasted no time answering back as Ryan O'Reilly skated up the ice and left the puck with Filip Forsberg at the blue line. Forsberg skated down, faked a shot, and then scored on a wrap around shot to tie the game up less than a minute later.
Nashville had their first power play chance of the game at 13:58 as Vincent Desharnais lifted the puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty. The Predators recorded one shot on goal but couldn't convert on the man advantage, and the teams returned to five a side. The period ended with the score tied 1-1 and Edmonton edging out Nashville in shots on goal 11-10.
Ryan O'Reilly started the second period by cleaning up a rebound in front of the net at just :23 to give Nashville the lead back. O'Reilly got a second goal three minutes later on the power play compliments of an Evander Kane high stick call.
Edmonton answered back on their subsequent power play chance as Alexandre Carrier sat for a holding the stick infraction. Despite Jeremy Lauzon blocking three quick shot attempts, a one timer by Evan Bouchard was deflected past Lankinen at 5:08 to make it a one goal game again.
There was a stretch of penalty riddled hockey that led to brief power plays and four on four chances, but neither team could capitalize on the quickly changing situation. Once the teams returned to full strength, Edmonton trapped the Nashville five in the defensive zone for an extended stretch as they pressured offensively, but after two-plus minutes, Lankinen finally covered the puck and relieved an exhausted Predators shift.
A well placed pass from Luke Evangelista to Tommy Novak resulted in Nashville's fourth goal of the game at 15:15 as Novak snapped the puck past Campbell. The teams headed into the second intermission with Nashville leading 4-2.
The final period opened with another stretch of offensive pressure by Edmonton, but again the Predators were able to prevent the pressure from turning into a goal. The teams played two minutes of four on four hockey as Evander Kane headed to the box at 5:55 for tripping and Juuso Pärssinen headed to the box for embellishment. Neither team capitalized on the extra space, and the teams returned to full strength.
A battling Ryan O'Reilly scored a net front hat trick goal at 8:38 to give Nashville a 5-2 lead. Edmonton tried to ramp up the pressure as the period wound down, but Nashville was able to counter back calmly. The game ended with the final score of 5-2.