The Nashville Predators (1-1-0) earned their first win of the season, and it was against the Central Division rival Dallas Stars (0-2-0). All goals were scored in the first period, with Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen scoring in the first minute. Then, Nashville’s power play took over. Steven Stamkos knocked the first one in at 4:46 after Arttu Hyry drew an interference penalty; then, after Jason Robertson’s slashing minor, Nils Hoglander capitalized to reach the final score of 2-1.
Juuse Saros was dominant in the crease, stopping 29 of 30 shots for a .967 save percentage, while Stars backup goaltender Casey DeSmith saved 24 of 26. Defenseman William Trudeau made his debut after four seasons of American Hockey League (AHL) play, and the Predators rewarded him. Nashville picked up its first win of the season, while Dallas is still looking for its first one.
Power Play Was Buzzing
In the Predators’ first game of the season, they lost 3-1 against the Minnesota Wild, and the power play was one of the biggest setbacks of the game. Nashville couldn’t do anything on the man advantage, going 0-for-4 in that department. Head coach Andrew Brunette and staff tinkered around with the roster to try to coax up a better power play.
It worked. Nashville scored both of its goals on the man advantage, and overall, they went 2-for-3 on the power play. Steven Stamkos earned career goal No. 625 on the man advantage, too. “Last game we had some pretty good looks. I just think we were one and done a little bit. Last game we had trouble entering, but we had some good looks…It’s control, because once we get it set, once we get moving, we’re pretty dangerous,” said Brunette.
First Period Set the Tone
It’s easy to say the first period made all the difference for the Predators, considering that’s the only period where either team scored. Still, sometimes it’s how you come out of the gate and onto the ice, and the Predators definitely showed that.
Not only did they outscore the Stars 2-1, but they outshot the Stars 15-9 in the first period. They were buzzing and ruthlessly efficient, and that gave them momentum to shut out the Stars the rest of the way.
“I really liked our energy. I liked our start. I thought we learned a little bit from two nights ago. We obviously scored right away. We stayed out of the box, and we set the tone. I thought we set the tone,” said Brunette.
The Bizarre Ryan O’Reilly Shift
Ryan O’Reilly had a crazy shift with under 10 minutes left to go in the game. His stick broke while trying to break up a Stars pass. After getting a replacement stick, he gave his stick to Nicolas Hague, whose stick had broken earlier. That resulted in O’Reilly not having a stick for a while.
Dallas Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith blocks the shot of Nashville Predators center Ryan O’Reilly (Steve Roberts-Imagn Images)
O’Reilly kept his composure, though. He broke up a pass to Mikko Rantanen by diving in front of it, and he had another blocked shot at some point, too. He pointed Predators’ defenders to skaters while keeping the pressure on puck carriers, all without a stick. Finally, at 7:42 in the period, Saros made a save, allowing O’Reilly to finally get his stick back.
“That was chaotic. Not how you want to draw it up,” said O’Reilly. “A little scrambly there, but we kept them to the outside, kept it out of the middle, and I thought we did a good job of just hanging on.”
Saros did a good job of keeping his composure as well, despite not noticing until he saved it that O’Reilly didn’t have a stick. “For a moment, I thought we had a penalty kill; I was wondering what was going on for a little bit,” Saros said. “Then I noticed we had one guy with no stick. But the guys did a good job just to keep it tight and play to fight another day on that shift.”
Schedule
The Predators have ended their home stretch to start the season. They will be on the road in Canada for every game next week. They face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, Oct. 6, the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, Oct. 8, and the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, Oct. 10. They’ll return home to face the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 13.
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