Juuse Saros made 33 saves in net for the Nashville Predators, who earned their first win of the season Tuesday with a 4-0 shutout of the Boston Bruins at Bridgestone Arena.
It was the 24th shutout of Saros’ career and his first since March 23 against the Detroit Red Wings. Zachary L’Heureux also skated in his NHL debut in Tuesday’s matchup against Boston and finished with one shot and four hits in 9:59 of ice time for the Predators.
The Predators opened the scoring late in the first period, when Max Jones headed to the box for a tripping call against Alexandre Carrier. Ryan O’Reilly tipped in a one-timer from Roman Josi just seconds into the Predators’ power play to give Nashville a 1-0 lead at 17:16 of the first.
Shifts immediately after goals had been a point of emphasis for Predators head coach Andrew Brunette in practices this week after Nashville repeatedly gave up leads after scoring through their last several games. David Pastrnak did get loose for a quick shot on the first shift after O’Reilly’s goal, but Saros once again came up with a big stop and the Predators responded with pressure to retain their one-goal lead heading into the first intermission.
Boston came out swinging in the second period, with the majority of the first five minutes spent in Nashville’s end. But Saros came up with a number of key saves to preserve the 1-0 lead.
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Charlie McAvoy was called for a double-minor for high sticking Steven Stamkos at 12:53 of the second period, giving the Predators four minutes on the man advantage. Just seconds after the penalty expired, Tommy Novak gave the Predators their first multi-goal lead of the season with a goal off of a rebound from a Luke Evangelista shot.
The Predators weathered another storm to start the third period, but Gustav Nyquist took the puck on a 2-on-1 and fired a shot past Jeremy Swayman for his first goal of the season to give the Predators a 3-0 lead and break the game wide open at 12:47 of the third period. Evangelista scored into the empty net just over a minute later for the 4-0 final.
“That’s a great lesson for us,” O’Reilly said after the game. “That feeling out there and that intensity is what we have to keep bringing. That’s how we’re going to get out of this hole.”
The Predators will look to keep digging out of their 1-5-0 hole Friday on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks before returning home Saturday to host the Columbus Blue Jackets at Bridgestone Arena.
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