Filip Forsberg tallied twice, but the Nashville Predators fell to the Washington Capitals by a 4-3 final on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result brings an end to Nashville’s three-game point streak, and in a back-and-forth contest that could have gone either way, the visitors ended up on the right side of the scoresheet.
“We had a really good start to the first period,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “[I] felt like we put a lot of pressure on them and kind of lost it in the second [period] there a little bit...at times had some good couple minutes. I thought our third was pretty good. We just have to find a win. I think it was a winnable game, and we have to find ways to win those games.”
“It's been our motto with our group right now - we have to put 60 minutes together,” Preds forward Ross Colton said. “We're playing really well at times. In the second period, if we take some penalties, we let them back in the game. They played last night, and I thought we had good energy in the first, and then again we fell behind, and then we turn it on again in the third period. There's positives to take, but I think with our group, we have to play a full 60 minutes, and we didn't do that tonight.”
Forsberg started the scoring when he converted on a one-timer near the conclusion of a 5-on-3 Nashville power play, but the Capitals evened the score before the opening period was out.
Washington took their first lead of the evening early in the second stanza, but Forsberg tied things up with his second of the night off a backhand chance in front. However, the Capitals regained the lead later in the second period, but once again, the Preds tied the game as Colton converted on a feed in front.
Midway through the third though, the Capitals scored their fourth and final goal of the evening, and that was enough to secure two points.
“I thought it was a good performance tonight,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “We just didn't get anything out of it, and there were little lulls where we made some mistakes and let in some goals a little bit uncharacteristically, and we just couldn't grab that extra goal later. I think [we] put ourselves in a position to win this game. We didn't win it… We've given ourselves a chance to collect points, and in this League, it's a one goal League, and we lost by one tonight.”
From here, Nashville’s homestand will continue with a Saturday matinee against the Lightning, and the Preds will look to build upon their improved start and simply find a way to get back into the win column.
“We have some really good stretches, we’ve just got to put it together game after game for 60 minutes,” Josi said. “I have a lot of confidence in this room. I know we have the right guys, and we need to show it. We need to get wins, and we understand that we're a winning business, and we understand that's what we need to do.”
Notes:
Prior to the game, the Preds inducted former Head Coach and General Manager Barry Trotz into the Predators Golden Hall. Trotz, who also coached the Capitals, was honored with a pregame ceremony before dropping the puck between Josi and Alex Ovechkin, the latter of whom was making his final appearance in Nashville before he retires at the end of the season.
The Preds again dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen on Thursday with Ilya Lyubushkin, Reid Schaefer and Vitali Pinchuk serving as healthy scratches.
Nashville’s five-game homestand continues on Saturday as the Preds host the Tampa Bay Lighting for a Halloween matinee before Carolina comes to town on Tuesday.
