Justus Annunen won the biggest game of the season for the Nashville Predators, and he wasn’t even supposed to start.

When news broke that starter Juuse Saros suffered an upper-body injury at morning skate, Annunen was thrust into action ahead of a key matchup against the Seattle Kraken on March 19 at Bridgestone Arena.

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The Predators, two points behind the Kraken in the wild card race, needed a regulation win to pull even. And they were without their top goaltender.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle Seattle Kraken in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan Ufko (85) celebrates his goal against the Seattle Kraken with defenseman Brady Skjei (76) during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 19, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle Seattle Kraken in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan Ufko (85) celebrates his goal against the Seattle Kraken with defenseman Brady Skjei (76) during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 19, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle Seattle Kraken in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators center Steven Stamkos (91) fights for the puck with Seattle Kraken center Matty Beniers (10) during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 19, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle Seattle Kraken in chase for wild card

Seattle Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord (35) and defenseman Adam Larsson (6) defend against Nashville Predators center Ryan O’Reilly (90) during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 19, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle Seattle Kraken in chase for wild card

Seattle Kraken center Frederick Gaudreau (89) celebrates his goal against the Nashville Predators during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 19, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle Seattle Kraken in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators left wing Erik Haula (56) battles Seattle Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord (35) and defenseman Ryan Lindgren (55) during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 19, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle Seattle Kraken in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan Ufko (85) celebrates his goal against the Seattle Kraken during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 19, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle Seattle Kraken in chase for wild card

Seattle Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson (6) passes the puck against the Nashville Predators during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 19, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle Seattle Kraken in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators right wing Luke Evangelista (77) battles Seattle Kraken defenseman Ryan Lindgren (55) during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 19, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle Seattle Kraken in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators left wing Zachary L’heureux (68) gets tangled up with Seattle Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak (24) and center Ben Meyers (59) during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 19, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle Seattle Kraken in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators center Tyson Jost (17) chases the puck with Seattle Kraken defenseman Ryan Lindgren (55) during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 19, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle Seattle Kraken in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators center Tyson Jost (17) skates with the puck past Seattle Kraken center Ben Meyers (59) during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 19, 2026.

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Nashville Predators, Steven Stamkos battle Seattle Kraken in chase for wild card

Nashville Predators center Steven Stamkos (91) fights for the puck with Seattle Kraken center Matty Beniers (10) during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 19, 2026.

But after the Predators built a 2-1 lead on goals by Ryan Ufko and Ryan O’Reilly, Annunen was solid in net. He made 25 saves, including seven in the third period, to preserve a 3-1 win for Nashville.

“It’s my job to be ready,” Annunen told reporters after the game. “I try to do everything the same if I am playing or not. It is a different feeling if you’re not supposed to play, but I try to be prepared.”

Annunen, who signed a two-year contract extension in January, moved to 7-9-2 on the season and helped the Predators (31-28-9, 71 points) pull even with the Kraken (31-28-9, 71 points) in the wild card race.

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“We felt very comfortable with (Annunen),” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. “I think he’s played extremely well, so I don’t even think it was a speed bump in our mind. … (Saros) has been outstanding, but we felt very comfortable.”

Predators avoid a dicey goaltending situation vs Kraken

Behind the scenes, a mad dash for Bridgestone Arena was unfolding.

Since the Saros injury occurred in the middle of the day, the Predators had only a few hours to recall goaltender Matt Murray from Milwaukee.

Murray, however, wasn’t in Milwaukee − he was in Winnipeg, where the Admirals were playing the Manitoba Moose earlier in the day.

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Knowing they would need a backup goaltender for Annunen, the team scrambled to get Murray to Nashville. The team’s hockey operations managed to get him dressed and on the bench by the start of the third period, but that left Annunen without a backup for two periods.

He wasn’t too worried.

“We have the EBUG nowadays,” Annunen explained, referring to the emergency backup goaltender that all 32 teams have on hand every game. “I could see he was there next to me. But my job doesn’t change. It was kind of a weird feeling knowing there’s no other guy. But at the same time, we just go out and play. It doesn’t change the game.”

Emergency backups are rarely used in the NHL, but on occasion they’ve had big moments. In February 2020, emergency backup goalie David Ayres played for the Carolina Hurricanes against the Toronto Maple Leafs when James Reimer and Petr Mrazek went down with injuries. Ayres, who worked as an ice resurface technician for the Toronto Marlies, made 42 saves in a win against the Maple Leafs.

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Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Inside Justus Annunen’s start for Predators, finding Matt Murray, emergency backup