Foote Tallies Lone Predators Goal in 5-1 Loss to Stars

The Nashville Predators dropped a 5-1 decision to the Dallas Stars Monday at American Airlines Center.
Juuse Saros made 20 saves in goal for the Predators, who moved to 38-30-8 on the season.
Dallas clinched a playoff berth with the win, while Nashville remains five points out of the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

THE STORY

Ty Dellandrea scored within the first two minutes of the game, but the goal was quickly waved off after a successful offside challenge by Nashville. Roope Hintz got the Stars on the board minutes later, firing a shot past Saros from the low slot to give Dallas the 1-0 lead at 4:21 of the first.
Colin Miller fired a slapshot through traffic and past Saros to extend Dallas' lead to 2-0 at 12:31 of the second period.
With John Leonard in the box for hooking against Tyler Seguin, Joe Pavelski tapped Miro Heiskanen's pass into the net on the power play at 16:07 to give the Stars a 3-0 lead heading into the second intermission.
The Stars tallied their second power-play goal in the third period following a Dante Fabbro penalty. Just two seconds into the ensuing man-advantage, Jason Robertson sent a laser past Saros to make it 4-0 at 8:29.
Tyler Seguin made it 5-0 at 14:23 when he fired a quick shot over Saros' right shoulder. Cal Foote scored less than a minute later, unassisted, for the 5-1 final. It was Foote's first goal as a member of the Predators.

THEY SAID IT

Foote on the effort versus Dallas:

"I think our game was pretty solid actually in the last 10 minutes of the first and then going into the second, but then we took some penalties. And every time we take penalties, we're giving their best five offensive guys a lot of opportunities to capitalize, and I think we've got to stay out of the box; it starts with that. They're a good rush team, they were just gaining speed through the neutral zone. We've just got to try to shut that down and play in the o-zone more."
Coach Hynes on the effort versus Dallas:
"I thought we had a good effort. Special teams were a difference in the game. I thought we had some opportunities early in the game to score and we didn't. Obviously, I thought the third goal was a little bit of a killer for us, but overall I didn't think it was an effort thing. I just thought special teams played a big part of it. We didn't score on our opportunities earlier in the game that I thought would have kept it a little bit tighter and maybe given us a little bit more momentum."
Foote on returning to action Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena:
"I think there are things to learn from this game, but it's a very fast turnaround. In less than 24 hours we're playing at home, so we've got to find energy and get the home crowd on our side and make sure we come out flying. We're still in it, so we've just got to claw for points and stay in the race."

UP NEXT

The Predators will return home to host the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena. The puck drops at 7 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN, 102.5 The Game and El Jefe Radio.