In the latest installment of the biggest game of the season, the Predators blanked the opposition.
Justus Annunen stopped all 43 shots he faced, and Nashville shut out the Anaheim Ducks by a 5-0 final on Tuesday night at Honda Center. The result gives the Preds 84 points and gets them right back into the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
Erik Haula, Filip Forsberg, Brady Skjei, Zach L’Heureux and Fedor Svechkov all tallied for Nashville on the night, but it was Annunen who stole the show and led his club to a much needed victory to deliver the Preds their first shutout of the season.
“We were sacrificing the body, good sticks there, great PK - a great job, great effort there,” Annunen said. “Not always perfect, but we were battling and got the result.”
“We hung in there," Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. "I thought 'Big Juice' was outstanding, especially early in the first - back-to-back, we had trouble getting going a little bit. We found our game in the second. He and the penalty kill [were excellent] tonight."
Neither team found the back of the net in the opening 20 minutes, but in the second stanza, it was all Preds. First, Kemell collected his first career assist when he found Haula streaking through the slot, and the veteran forward wristed a shot past Lukas Dostal to give Nashville a 1-0 lead.
Forsberg doubled that advantage with his own twisted wrister on the power play, and then with a minute left in the frame, Skjei went top shelf on a shorthanded breakaway to give the visitors a 3-0 lead though two periods.
“There's lots of guys who want to win a lot, and of course, every game, it's like playoffs for us right now,” Kemell said. "It just tells about our commitment and discipline inside the group and passion.”
L’Heureux and Svechkov added markers in the final frame, but it was Annunen who made save after save - which included fending off a late 5-on-3 for Anaheim - to help give the Preds seven of a possible eight points thus far on their current trip.
“Nothing much, pretty basic,” Kemell joked of Annunen’s effort. “Yeah, it was unbelievable. So happy for him and so proud of him.”
“We’ve had a great road trip here,” Annunen said. “All of our games have had a great effort. Maybe yesterday and today the first period wasn't perfect, but after that we kept battling and got into our game. We are playing well lately, so let's just keep it going.”
The success has been there, but Nashville needs to keep winning in the continuously tight Wild Card race in the West. Their final road game of the season comes on Thursday against Utah - the team occupying the first Wild Card spot - with one final test away from home with the finish line in sight.
“We'll enjoy this win, and tomorrow we start to focus on the next game against Utah,” Kemell said. “We’ll just keep doing everything and just go there and win the game.”
“We're just day to day – don't really look at what's behind us,” Brunette said. “We’ve got another road game, and then we're going to approach it the same way we approach all of them. Get a little bit of rest here. We know Utah's a really good team, and a team we're chasing, and we want to put our best foot forward next game.”
Notes:
Nashville’s lineup remained unchanged from Monday night with defenseman Nic Hague remaining day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Forward Ozzy Wiesblatt and blueliner Jordan Oesterle served as healthy scratches.
Per NHL PR, the Predators recorded their first shutout win since Jan. 3, 2025, when they blanked the Canucks (3-0 W). The last time Nashville scored five or more goals in a shutout victory was March 5, 2022 (8-0 W at SJS).
Justus Annunen turned aside all 43 shots he faced to record his third career shutout and first since March 4, 2024. He became the third goalie in Predators history with as many saves in a shutout victory, joining Juuse Saros (46 on Dec. 14, 2017 and 43 on Jan. 16, 2018) and Dan Ellis (43 on March 28, 2008).
The Predators will finish their five-game roadtrip on Thursday in Utah against their division rival before heading back to Nashville for the final three-game homestand of the season.
