The Nashville Predators held a 2-1 lead late into the third period, but the Philadelphia Flyers scored with 11 seconds remaining to tie the game and proceeded to win in overtime Wednesday at Bridgestone Arena.
Predators goaltender Juuse Saros finished with 20 saves in the loss, while Flyers goaltender Aleksei Kolosov finished with 25 saves in the win. With the loss, the Predators fall to 7-12-4 on the season.
How the Predators lined up vs. New Jersey
Forsberg – O’Reilly – Nyquist
Stamkos – Novak – Marchessault
Jankowski – Svechkov – Evangelista
L’Heureux – Sissons – Smith
Josi – Carrier
Skjei – Blankenburg
Wilsby – Schenn
Saros
Wedgewood
Extra: Del Gaizo, Pärssinen, McCarron, Lauzon*
Forward Michael McCarron missed his third consecutive game and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The Predators also announced Wednesday morning that Jeremy Lauzon is week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
Game Summary
The Predators were the first to find the back of the net just over six minutes into the opening frame. With Luke Evangelista and Ryan Poehling in the box for corresponding tripping penalties, Roman Josi made a wraparound pass that was intended for Filip Forsberg but deflected off the skate of a Flyers defenseman and into the net to put Nashville up, 1-0.
Philadelphia had an answer later in the period, when Scott Laughton took a sharp angle to squeak a shot past Saros on the short side and tie things up at 1-1. The Predators retook the lead before the period was over, as Ryan O’Reilly ripped a one-timer from the face-off circle for his first goal since Oct. 28.
The first period ended in a dust-up that resulted in penalties for both Zachary L’Heureux and Travis Sanheim, and the teams started the second period at 4-on-4. A Matvei Michkov roughing penalty on Alexandre Carrier gave Nashville a minute of 4-on-3, but the Predators were unable to capitalize on the man advantage.
The Predators maintained the 2-1 lead until Morgan Frost redirected a shot from Sean Couturier that also tipped off of Sanheim’s stick to tie the game with 11.4 seconds remaining in regulation. Couturier redirected a pass from Travis Konecny past Saros at 2:31 of overtime for the 3-2 final.
Key Takeaways
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Predators defenseman Adam Wilsby finished with a shot, a block and a hit in 17:27 of ice time in his NHL debut.
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Defenseman Nick Blankenburg, who was recalled from the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals along with Wilsby Wednesday morning, skated in his Predators debut. Blankenburg, who signed a free-agent contract with Nashville during the offseason, finished with two hits in 14:33 of ice time.
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Although the Predators were unable to capitalize at 4-on-3 early in the second period, they did manage to keep the puck in the Flyers’ zone for more than three minutes straight; during that span, they rattled off seven shots and 11 total shot attempts, a marked improvement from the five-minute power play that saw them put just one shot on goal in Monday’s loss to the New Jersey Devils.
Up Next
The Predators host the Tampa Bay Lightning Friday at Bridgestone Arena. Puck drop is at 6 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast regionally on FanDuel Sports Network South and on ESPN+ for out-of-market customers in the United States.
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