Predators Win Special Teams Battle, Saros Saves 32 In Preds' 5-1 Win Over Lightning
The Nashville Predators' struggling penalty kill came up big against one of the league's best power plays while the Preds scored twice on the man advantage in a 5-1 win over Tampa Bay at home.
Predators Win Special Teams Battle, Saros Saves 32 In Preds' 5-1 Win Over LightningThe Nashville Predators hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena for their second meeting of the season. The two teams kicked off the NHL season against one another with Tampa Bay winning that October 10 game 5-3.
Tonight Tommy Novak returned to the lineup for the Predators after missing the last eleven games with an upper body injury.
The Tampa Bay Lightning entered tonight's game coming off a win last night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tonight Jonas Johansson got the start in net.
Each team had early chances offensively, but both Saros and Johansson handled the shots in the first few minutes of the game. Saros made a big save on a two on one chance, and a shot by Phil Tomasino as he tried to split two defenders went wide of Johansson.
Tampa Bay's highly effective power play got their first chance of the game at 7:31 as Michael McCarron was whistled for a high stick. Yakov Trenin and Ryan O'Reilly had a shorthanded chance but couldn't corral the puck in close to the net, but the Predators were able to kill off the two minutes.
The Bolts got on the scoreboard first as Victor Hedman brought the puck in the zone, held up, and found Brandon Hagel in the slot. Hagel passed to Alex Barré-Boulet in the circle who shot a one timer past Saros to give Tampa Bay the lead at 13:32.
At 15:30, Steven Stamkos headed to the penalty box for holding a stick. Nashville thought they scored a goal quickly on the power play, but the referee waved the goal off immediately for goalie interference. The Predators second unit took the ice, and Juuso Pärssinen cleaned up his own rebound at 17:14 to tie the game. The teams headed to their locker rooms with a 1-1 score after the first period.
Brandon Hagel headed to the penalty box at 2:30 in the second period for high sticking Michael McCarron. Filip Forsberg made short work of the opportunity scoring just seven seconds into the man advantage with a shot from the top of the circle. Nashville added to their lead as former Bolt Ryan McDonagh cleaned up a juicy rebound with a backhand shot at 4:32 to give Nashville the two goal lead.
Tampa Bay got their second chance on the power play at 5:08 as Kiefer Sherwood was called for a hold. The Bolts' power play set up in the offensive zone and peppered the net, but Saros tracked the puck well and the penalty killers cleaned up loose rebounds. Colton Sissons came up big on the kill, passing off his stick to Ryan McDonagh when McDonagh's broke and then kicking the puck to McDonagh for a critical clear. The Predators survived the two minutes, and the team returned to full strength.
Tampa Bay increased their offensive pressure but couldn't capitalize on their chances, even with another power play midway through the period while Roman Josi sat for a trip. The period ended with Filip Forsberg taking a seat in the penalty box for high sticking, but again the Predators' penalty kill and Saros kept Tampa Bay from scoring. The teams headed into the second intermission with Nashville leading 3-1.
A slash committed by Alex Barré-Boulet at 1:22 gave Nashville a power play chance early in the third period, but the Predators couldn't capitalize on the two minute opportunity. Roman Josi got Nashville their fourth goal of the game at 6:11 grabbing the puck off a face-off win and shooting it past Johansson from the top of the circle.
Tampa Bay pressured back immediately, but Juuse Saros corralled the puck in a mad net front scramble. Play was paused for a moment as Dante Fabbro took a puck to the face, but he returned to the ice a few minutes later. Play was temporary halted again as Austin Watson took exception to a hit by Cole Smith, and Smith and Watson dropped the gloves.
Tampa Bay opted to go empty net and add an extra attacker at 11:45. The Bolts set up and pressured Saros, but the goaltender tracked the puck well and at 13:43 Yakov Trenin scored an empty net goal to give the Predators a 5-1 lead. Johansson returned to his place in net, but the Predators continued to press offensively through the remainder of the game. Nashville narrowed the gap in shots on goal to 33-30 in favor of Tampa Bay, and the Predators got the 5-1 win.