Preds Finish Road Portion of Schedule with Loss to Blue Jackets

Tanner Jeannot and Calle Jarnkrok scored for Nashville on Wednesday night, but the Predators fell to the Columbus Blue Jackets by 4-2 final at Nationwide Arena. The result sees the Preds remain at 60 points in the standings, as they continue their quest for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Central Division.
Blue Jackets forward Mikhail Grigorenko broke open a 2-2 tie late in the third period, and the Predators couldn't get another go-ahead goal after Columbus evened the score in the final minute of the middle period.

"We fought hard, and it was back and forth all game long," Nashville forward Tanner Jeannot said. "We were working hard out there, we had some sustained pressure and just little mini breakdowns, and they made us pay for it. They're a good team over there, so we've just got to refocus and be ready for Carolina [on Saturday]."

"It was a little bit of a back-and-forth affair, which we don't like to do as much as we did tonight," Preds forward Colton Sissons said. "We had a lot of good looks offensively and had a lot of chances, but gave up some pretty good looks the other way and some more O-zone time for them than we wanted to."

Nashville got the game's first goal, and it came just more than three minutes into the contest, when Jeannot stuffed a puck past Elvis Merzlikins for his fourth of the season and a 1-0 lead after one period.
Columbus evened the score early in the second stanza when Jack Roslovic converted on a power play, and after Jarnkrok put the Preds back up by one with a breakaway tally for his 13th of the campaign, Oliver Bjorkstrand tied the game again late in the period..

Then, Grigorenko beat Preds goaltender Juuse Saros with 6:10 left in regulation, before the Blue Jackets added an empty-netter to finish off the evening.
The Predators could have clinched a playoff spot with a win, but they'll instead turn their attention to the Dallas and Tampa Bay matchup on Friday night. If the Stars lose in regulation, Nashville will be in, but the Preds also know they need to worry about what they can control.
That continues on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena when they host the Carolina Hurricanes in the penultimate game of the regular season, and the Predators will be looking to give the home crowd another show.
"When you play big games, there's tough losses [sometimes]," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said. "Is this a tough loss? Yeah, we all feel it, but you know, it's how you're going to be able to respond to this… The next game is the most important game, and that's going to be on Saturday. It's really no different in any other situation - if you get too low, it can sit with you. If you get too high, it's too much. It's really about, let's get ready for Saturday here and take the lessons out of this game. We've got to be better."
"It's exciting, and we're still in the driver's seat here," Sissons said. "Two huge games against Carolina, and it's an exciting time of year, we've got to just find a way to beat the Hurricanes. They've had our number this year, but full faith that we can do it."

Notes:
Colton Sissons returned to the Nashville lineup after missing Monday's game with an upper-body injury, and defenseman Dante Fabbro was back for the Predators after a 13-game absence due to injury.
Forward Nick Cousins, as well as defensemen Matt Benning and Erik Gudbranson were among the players scratched for the Preds on Wednesday.
With the road portion of the 2020-21 schedule complete, the Predators will return home to Nashville for the final two games of the regular season and host Carolina on Saturday and Monday at Bridgestone Arena (both at 7 p.m. CT).
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