Before the season starts, let's take one last look back at the Nashville Predators best games from an up and down 2021-2022 season.
The St. Louis Blues spent much of last season like a beauty pageant's first runner up - chronically overlooked despite high marks in the talent competition. The Blues would eventually be the only team to win postseason games against the championship winning juggernaut Colorado Avalanche on the Avs' march up to the Stanley Cup Finals.
St. Louis mastered the Predators almost as handily in the regular season, defeating the Predators three games to one overall, but this match up on November 11, 2021 revealed a Predators team growing in mental toughness and highlighted an offensive duo who had a big impact on the Preds all last season.
What Happened
David Rittich was in net for the Predators, one of only fifteen games that Saros didn't start during the regular season. The first period displayed the talent St. Louis had on their roster, especially young center Jordan Kyrou. Kyrou sent the puck past RIttich at 12:23 and then again at 16:46 with a power play goal. The Blues were gifted the man advantage because of an avoidable and unfortunate penalty - a situation that became a main storyline for the Predators all season long. The two first period goals by Kyrou didn't bode well for Rittich early, but he ended the night saving 33-36 with a .917 save percentage.
Nashville was able to regroup after going down 2-0 in the first. Matt Duchene corralled the puck, exited the defensive zone cleanly, and eventually finished the play with a slot shot past Jordan Binnington less than a minute into the second period. Mikael Granlund and Luke Kunin earned assists on Duchene's goal. The three combined again at 7:43 in the second as Kunin scored off of a slick backhand pass from Matt Duchene to even the game.
In the third period Mikael Granlund stole a pass in the neutral zone setting up Yakov Trenin's first goal of the season to give Nashville the lead at 4:01. Vladimir Tarasenko tied the game by powering past Nashville's defense at 8:13, and the teams headed to overtime to fight for that extra Central Division point.
The game winning overtime goal was scored by Matt Duchene but its origin belonged to Mikael Granlund's outstanding play in the neutral zone. The Predators won the game 3-2 in overtime.
What This Game Revealed About the Predators
Head coach John Hynes spent much of the preseason hitting home the team's need to be mentally tough. Mental toughness was an area Hynes identified early in his tenure in Nashville as an issue, so seeing the team regroup after going down 2-0 in the first period showed growth in the team's mindset.
The game highlighted not only game winning goal scorer Matt Duchene - who had a franchise record setting season in 2021-2022 - but also the talent and value of Mikael Granlund. While Granlund finished the season eighth in goals on the team, he was second in assists behind Roman Josi. Duchene and Filip Forsberg each recorded 30+ goals more than Granlund over the season, but Granlund's vision, anticipation, and accuracy were key to Duchene and Forsberg's success.
This game wasn't an offensive barn burner, but it was a solid performance for the Predators against a very talented team. The mental resiliency the then 7-6 Preds needed combined with step up performances by key players make this a noteworthy 2021-2022 win.