Nashville Predators forward Reid Schaefer (49) fights Calgary Flames defenseman Brayden Pachal (94) on December 2, 2025 at Bridgestone Arena. JOHN RUSSELL/NASHVILLE PREDATORS

Bridgestone Arena looked nearly half-empty for Tuesday night’s NHL cellar-dweller meeting between the Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators.

Rookie forwards Reid Schaefer and Ozzy Wiesblatt found ways to make it fun.

Both scored their first career goals – and held their own in fights – to help Nashville (9-13-4) collect a 5-1 blowout win over Calgary (9-15-4).

“I think they brought a lot of energy,” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. “A little bit of the youth movement (was) injected bringing that kind of life to our group. They both played a pretty physical style of play. They got on the forecheck. They kind of gave us a dimension that, especially with (Cole Smith) out, we were kind of missing that relentless physicality.”

Schaefer, 22, was making just his third appearance since being recalled from the American Hockey League’s Milwaukee Admirals on Nov. 28. He slid a rebound shot past Calgary goaltender Devin Cooley in the first period and then turned around to embrace linemates Fedor Svechkov and Matthew Wood.

“Honestly, I kind of blacked out,” Schaefer said. “It went in the net, and I was like, ‘Oh, what do I do here?’ Pretty cool moment.”

Total catharsis here for Ozzy Wiesblatt, who finally nets his first career goal in his 28th NHL game.

Wiesblatt, who lost his older brother in September, looked and pointed up toward the end of the celebration.pic.twitter.com/Nwe5yzESei

— Russell Vannozzi (@RussellV_MSP) December 3, 2025

On the other hand, Wiesblatt’s tally was a long time coming.

The 25 shots he attempted over his first 27 NHL games produced zero goals, despite several close calls and a few clanked posts. Wiesblatt, 23, finally tapped in a pass from Michael Bunting late in the second period to break through for an emotional first goal.

As Wiesblatt skated back toward the Nashville bench, he pointed to the sky as a tribute to his older brother Orca, who was killed in a single-vehicle crash on Sept. 14 in British Columbia.

“It’s just a cool feeling,” Wiesblatt said of his goal. “Obviously, that one’s for him. It’s a huge relief for me.”

The 6-foot-5, 226-pound Schaefer wound up in his first career fight when he laid out Calgary’s Brayden Pachal on the faceoff following Wiesblatt’s goal. Later, Wiesblatt took exception to a high hit from behind delivered by Blake Coleman and danced around a referee to trade blows with Coleman.

Predators star Steven Stamkos, who notched career point No. 1,200 on his second-period goal, appreciated those efforts from the gritty newcomers.

“You need that to be a good team in this league,” Stamkos said. “It’s contributions from everybody. Obviously, guys are getting more opportunities each and every day because of the way that they’re playing. It’s great to see them get rewarded.”

Schaefer and Wiesblatt are former first-round picks of other organizations who’ve developed into promising assets for Nashville.

The Predators acquired Schaefer from the Edmonton Oilers as part of the package for defenseman Mattias Ekholm in February 2023. They added Wiesblatt from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for left wing Egor Afanasyev in June 2024.

Both Nashville rookies took home a coveted souvenir on Tuesday. Wiesblatt already knows where his puck will go for now.

“Right on the shelf,” he said. “I’ll probably stare at it every day and hope I get another one.”

Nashville Predators forward Ozzy Wiesblatt (right) celebrates his first career goal with teammate Michael Bunting (58) on December 2, 2025 at Bridgestone Arena. JOHN RUSSELL/NASHVILLE PREDATORS

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