The Nashville Predators earned their 900th franchise win with a final score of 6-2 against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night. The team snapped a five-game losing streak with their first win in front of the home crowd. Michael McCarron, Zach Sanford, Roman Josi and Mikael Granlund scored their first goals of the season. Filip Forsberg (3a), Matt Duchene (3a), Cole Smith (2a) and Josi (1g, 2a) each had a multi-point night. With three assists in the third period, Duchene tied the franchise record for most in a single period. According to Preds PR, Thursday night was Josi’s 25th career three-point game, the third-most among all NHL defensemen since his debut season in 2011-12.
After a small break from hockey, the Predators returned to Bridgestone Arena. Head Coach John Hynes and Josi were looking forward to the break in order to reset after their loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night.
It didn’t take long for the Blues to take action. With 1:07 into the game, Robert Thomas redirected Justin Faulk’s shot from the blue line to take a 1-0 lead.
Tanner Jeannot took things into his own hands to even the score. Goaltender Thomas Greiss made a kick save on Josi’s shot, but Jeannot had full access to the rebound. With 3:04 left before the first intermission, the Preds made it 1-1.
“We know that’s one thing that we’re good at (getting to the net front). We’re a big forward group so we can get in front of the goalie’s eyes. We thought that was one thing we might’ve been missing,” said Jeannot.
Teams returned to action and Josi found himself in the penalty box for cross-checking Nathan Walker. It looked like they would be able to kill off the penalty, but Brayden Schenn capitalized with only four seconds remaining with the man advantage.
The fourth line found a way to answer as the clock winded down in the second period. With 4:12 remaining, McCarron scored his 10th career goal. Josi’s shot was once again blocked by Greiss, but McCarron was able to dig out the rebound and send it to the back of the net. Forsberg earned his first assist of the night.
Sanford scored a wraparound goal with an assist from Smith. Sanford earned his first point in gold against his former team, who he spent four seasons with. The goal came less than a minute after McCarron’s and Bridgestone Arena was alive.
Sanford scored a wraparound goal with an assist from Smith. Sanford earned his first point in gold against his former team, who he spent four seasons with. The goal came less than a minute after McCarron’s and Bridgestone Arena was alive.
The Predators haven’t had much success when leading on the scoreboard headed into third period action. According to Michael Gallagher, the Preds have been outscored 10-3 and have blown two leads in seven games. The team decided this wouldn’t be their fate for the night.
With a 3-on-1 breakaway in favor of the Preds, Duchene sent the puck to Forsberg. Greiss made a kick save off his initial shot, but Ryan Johansen net his 180th career goal with the rebound.
We know 13 is an unlucky number for some, especially with Halloween right around the corner, but Josi destroyed the Blues perfect penalty kill on their 13th penalty of the season. With Walker in the box for tripping Yakov Trenin, Josi net a powerplay goal from the blue line for his 141st career goal.
Greiss made a dash for the bench as the Blues sent out an extra attacker in hopes of getting back into the game. With a few minutes remaining in the final frame, Duchene and Smith earned assists on Mikael Granlund’s empty-net goal.
It will be a quick turnaround for the Predators. They will take on former head coach Peter Laviolette and the Washington Capitals at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday night.
