The Nashville Predators scored on an early power play and Tommy Novak scored in back to back games, but the Predators lost to the New Jersey Devils as the Predators were outplayed and outworked.

Tonight Egor Afanasyev and Mark Jankowski joined the lineup. Jankowski played two games in early December for the Predators while Afanasyev returned for the first time since making his NHL debut and playing 17 games in Nashville last season. 

Nashville got an early chance on the power play as Tomas Nosek headed to the penalty box for high sticking Cody Glass at 2:26. The Predators top power play unit set up and pressured Nico Daws with five shots before Ryan O'Reilly cleaned up a loose puck to give the Predators a 1-0 lead at 4:04. 

New Jersey got their first chance on the power play at 4:36 after Jeremy Lauzon was called for a trip, but Nashville was able to kill off the two minute penalty. The power play gave the Devils momentum and they tested Saros throughout the rest of the first period. The Devils outshot the Preds 22-12 in the first twenty minutes but Nashville headed to the locker room with a 1-0 lead. 

The Predators got another early period power play when Erik Haula was whistled for a hook but the Predators sent out the extra attacker on the delayed call too early. The bench minor resulted in four on four play, and Jack Hughes ripped a wrist shot past Saros to tie the game at 1:30. 

It appeared that perhaps Luke Evangelista has given the Preds a lead a few minutes later, but a review confirmed the "no goal" call on the ice. A poke check and stretch pass from Roman Josi to Tommy Novak for a breakaway goal at 7:01 gave the Predators the official 2-1 lead. New Jersey had another power play chance as Luke Schenn sat for a hold, but the Predators penalty kill held them to one shot on goal before the teams returned to full strength. The period ended with a score of 2-1. 

The Predators started the third period trapped in the defensive zone. At 2:15 Nico Hischier tipped Jesper Bratt's shot past Saros to once again tie the game. Nashville went on the power play less than a minute later but couldn't convert.

After back and forth play through the middle of the period, Timo Meier got the puck past Saros in a net front flurry at 14:45 to give the Devils their first lead of the night. With time running out, Juuse Saros headed to the bench and the Predators added the extra attacker. Nashville pressured Daws, but an intercepted pass led to an empty net goal by Nico Hischier to make the final score 4-2.