Continuing with the trend of mixing NHL veterans with young prospects through the pre-season, Nashville Predators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators]head coach Andrew Brunette went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen Saturday in Tampa Bay against the Lightning [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning]. While it's typical to be inconsistent during the pre-season, the Predators appeared disjointed at times and looked like they could break through on other occasions, but fell to the Lightning 4-1 at the newly-named Benchmark International Arena. Darren Raddysh scored at 5:34 of the first, Mitchell Chaffee tallied one in the second, Brandon Hagel got one late in the third and Gage Goncalves sealed the victory for the Lightning. Ozzy Wiesblatt scored the only Nashville goal in an otherwise uninspiring night for the Predators, who fall to 2-1-1 in pre-season. The two teams also met last Tuesday in Nashville, with Tampa Bay coming from behind to win in a shootout. The Predators attempted to pull a similar comeback Saturday, but came up well short. Here are three takeaways from the matchup against Tampa Bay. THE PREDATORS STARTED SLUGGISH One of the biggest reasons the Predators had such a disappointing 2024-25 was their penchant for slow starts. The first three games of this pre-season saw the opposite, with the Preds jumping out in front first. That was not the case Saturday, however, as Tampa Bay struck twice, once in the first period and once in the second, for a 2-0 lead. The Preds trimmed the margin to one, but that was as close as they came all night. Juuse Saros, who had allowed only one goal in his first 60 minutes of pre-season action, yielded two scores on six shots through one-plus periods. He did make several key saves to keep Tampa from widening the gap before giving way to Matt Murray after 40 minutes Murray gave up the final two goals in the third. The Predators couldn't get out of the defensive zone and had numerous erratic passes in the first 20 minutes. They picked up the pace in the middle frame, outshooting the Bolts 14-6 in the period and 29-17 for the game. But only one of those shots went in the net. OZZY WIESBLATT GETS AN EMOTIONAL GOAL Some players were seeing their first action of the pre-season including Tanner Molendyk and Zach L’Heureux, who were both coming off injuries. Ozzy Wiesblatt, who took a brief leave of absence following the death of his brother Orca earlier this month, also suited up for his first action of the pre-season, and he made his presence felt in an emotional way. Wiesblatt, who played in the Gold Star Showcase [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators/game-day/4-takeaways-from-nashville-predators-gold-star-scrimmage]Thursday and scored a goal in the five-a-side shootout, got his first goal in actual pre-season action to trim the Bolts’ lead to 2-1. The 23-year-old forward deflected a shot from Fedor Svechkov to get the Preds on the board at the 11:48 mark of the second. Michael Bunting picked up a secondary assist. It may not have officially counted in the career stat sheet, but it certainly counted in the hearts of all who have been pulling for the Wiesblatt family. Ozzy’s brother, Oasiz, is also back in camp. He, too, notched a goal in the shootout in Thursday’s showcase. On Saturday, it was Ozzy’s night. He even got in a scrap in the third period, going off for cross-checking WILSBY WENT TO WORK Jan 31, 2025; Buffalo, New York, USA; Nashville Predators defenseman Adam Wilsby (83) skates away from Buffalo Sabres center Ryan McLeod (71) in the first period at the KeyBank Center. Mark Konezny-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/a07b7900-55e9-4e97-9156-dd6ccea33103.jpeg] Jan 31, 2025; Buffalo, New York, USA; Nashville Predators defenseman Adam Wilsby (83) skates away from Buffalo Sabres center Ryan McLeod (71) in the first period at the KeyBank Center. Mark Konezny-Imagn Images One name both Brunette and general manager Barry Trotz has raved about throughout the first week of camp is Adam Wilsby. The 25-year-old left-shot defenseman is one of the candidates to make the roster with Hague out. Wilsby was paired with Roman Josi throughout the night. With the Predators trailing 1-0 in the first, both made bids to tie the game, only to be stymied by Bolts goalie Brandon Halverson. As expected, there were some hiccups. A high-sticking call in the first period and a somewhat questionable tripping call in the second landed Wilsby in the sin bin. Wilsby and Josi were both on the ice on Tampa’s second goal. Josi overextended and Wilsby didn’t get over in time, and the Lightning took a 2-0 lead. Wilsby showed his athleticism throughout the game and continues to keep his name in front of Brunette and Trotz for making the roster out of camp. Having the experience and leadership of Josi as his partner can only help the younger player’s development and comfort level.
