A late comeback attempt wasn’t meant to be, as the Nashville Predators fell to the Washington Capitals by a 4-2 final on Thursday night at Capital One Arena. The result sees the Preds go 1-1-1 to finish the week as the Olympic break arrives.

Jonathan Marchessault and Michael McCarron tallied for Nashville on the night, and although the result wasn’t what the Predators were hoping for entering the break, there were still things to like about the effort – especially on a tough back-to-back.

“Especially in the first, I thought we had a lot of really good looks,” Josi said. “I actually liked our start. Obviously, they were up 2-0, but I think we had some good looks, good chances. They had their looks too, but I thought throughout the game, we created a lot. They played great, had some amazing saves. That’s kind of how the game was.”

“For the end of a back-to-back with a late night, I really liked our game,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “[We] put ourselves in a position. Unfortunately, took a penalty late to kind of get us out of that, especially on a night when you don’t have a whole lot of gas, but really proud of the way the guys competed. We’ve been on a run here where we don’t give up and we keep coming at you, and tonight was another example of that. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a point out of it, or get something out of it, but we’ve got to feel good about where we are in our game.”

The Capitals had a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes of play, and they extended that to three midway through the second stanza. Marchessault got the Predators on the board before the middle period was out when a puck deflected in off his skate, and that led into a turning point on the night.

Washington appeared to have taken a 4-1 lead early in the third period, but after the Preds called a timeout to take a few more looks at the play, Nashville challenged for offside – and they were right.

Then, less than a minute after the goal was overturned, McCarron crashed the Capitals net and banged in a rebound past Logan Thompson to bring the Preds to within one. But, that was as close as the Preds came before Jacob Chychrun added his second of the night to finish things off.

Despite the loss, Josi and Brunette continue to be pleased with what they’re seeing from the group. Although their game isn’t perfect, they’re still very much in the playoff race as the break arrives, and that’s worth recognizing.

“I actually thought tonight was probably one of the more complete games from us recently,” Josi said. “We talked a lot about the start, but sometimes things happen in hockey. Sometimes a good start, it doesn’t go your way… I think we seem to focus on our game and not worry about the score too much early, and I thought it was better tonight.”

“I’m really happy with our game, probably since Thanksgiving,” Brunette said. “Even tonight with low energy and the tanks kind of empty, we still played and showed up and competed and, you know, we got a few things to work out, I think of late…. But I’m proud of the guys. I mean, to get us back in this position, it took a lot of energy, a lot of commitment from every single guy, and they brought it.”

Three weeks now separate the Preds from their next game, and as the Olympic break arrives, most of the group will enjoy some well-deserved time off – and then another push will commence.

“I think early in the year, everybody wrote us off a little bit,” Josi said. “We didn’t start well, kind of down to the bottom of the standings, and fought our way back. We stuck together. We’ve played some really good hockey. I thought the last 30 games or so, we’ve kind of crawled back into the playoff race, and I think we can be proud of that. It’s been hard, and that’s good for us. It kind of glued us together as a team. It’s going to be even harder down the stretch, and we’re going to need our best.”

“I want them to feel good about themselves,” Brunette said. “I want them to have belief, and I want them to have a rest, recharge their batteries, and come back hungry and excited. I think this group has never been tighter. You can see from night in and night out how hard they compete for each other, how much they care about each other… Now, we get a little chance to recharge and go back to work. It’s going to be a fun last 25 games.”

Notes:

Prior to Thursday’s game, the Preds reassigned forward Matthew Wood to Milwaukee ahead of the Olympic break. Defenseman Nick Blankenburg was Nashville’s lone healthy scratch in Washington.

A three-week hiatus has now arrived for the Predators. Captain Roman Josi, forwards Filip Forsberg and Erik Haula, plus goaltender Juuse Saros will all head to Italy to compete in the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, while the rest of the Preds will receive 10 days off before practices resume in mid-February.

Nashville’s next game is set for Feb. 26 when the Preds host the Chicago Blackhawks at Bridgestone Arena.