Lauzon Breaks NHL Hits Record as Predators Fall to Penguins, 4-2

Farewell to the 2023-24 regular season. We knew you well.

Jeremy Lauzon broke the NHL’s single-season hits record and Filip Forsberg and Gustav Nyquist each scored, but the Nashville Predators ultimately closed their regular season falling by a 4-2 decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Monday.

“Obviously, it's kind of disappointing that we lost,” Lauzon said. “I think we played just 40 minutes and wish we came ready in the first. Maybe then the game would have been ours. But, I think we showed character in the second and third, and we're going to be ready for Game 1 here.”

“[The Penguins] were ready to play, they were desperate; we kind of thought we'd ease ourselves into the game and you can't do that,” Predators Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “I think it was good for our group to realize that's going to be the pace and the atmosphere you're going to face, and I thought the last two periods we got to our game. We were knocking on the door. Unfortunately, the goal we let in early in the third kind of took the wind out of our sails a little bit. So, a lot of good things and a lot of things we can definitely learn from.”

The result saw Nashville conclude the 2023-24 campaign at 47-30-5 overall (99 points) and 24-14-3 on the road, the second-best visiting record in team history.

QUICK HITS

Lauzon Makes Hits-tory

Whether he knew it or not, as Lauzon crashed into Penguins forward Rickard Rakell at 4:02 of the final frame, No. 3 made NHL history.

Recording nine hits against Pittsburgh on Monday, the Predators defenseman reached 383 on the season, enough to break the League’s single-season record established by Matt Martin in 2014-15.

“It feels pretty good,” Lauzon said. “Obviously, that was something I wanted to achieve this year, and I was able to do it. And I guess there's a lot of years left in my career, so next year, we'll try to break it again.”

“He's obviously been a big part of our team and we’re really happy for the record,” Brunette said. “It's going to be a hard record to duplicate. I think he's turned himself into one of the elite defenders in the League with his length and his skating ability, and obviously his physicality. So. I'm happy for him.”

Two from the Top

Gustav Nyquist and Filip Forsberg concluded their career seasons scoring one last goal each.

Nyquist’s marker saw the 34-year-old conclude his campaign with 75 points (23g-52a), a career high and the second most by a Predators player in their first year with the club behind Paul Kariya (85 in 2005-06).

Forsberg continued to pad the franchise’s single-season record with his 48th of the season, a career high.

Forsberg additionally concluded his season with a career-high 94 points (48g-46a), the second-most in team history behind Roman Josi (96 in 2021-22).

Two for Big Mac

Collecting assists on Nyquist and Forsberg’s goals, defenseman Ryan McDonagh led the Predators on Monday with two points.

The defenseman wrapped his season with 32 points (3g-29a), the eighth-most among his teammates and the second-most among Predators defensemen, behind Josi (85).

UP NEXT

While Nashville left PPG Paints Arena empty-handed, there was at least a small silver lining knowing playoff hockey is just around the corner.

“It was a good opportunity,” Forsberg said. “We didn’t really answer the bell in the first period, but after that I thought we played decently against a desperate team and can take some of that with us.”

“It was a big goal for us to make the playoffs and to prove everybody wrong,” Lauzon said. “I don't think anybody saw us in the playoffs this year and it's awesome that this group made it happen. I think we're a character group and we can surprise a lot of people.”

Nashville’s first round opponent and schedule have yet to be determined. Continue following NashvillePredators.com and @PredsNHL on social media for updates.

NOTES

• Scoring two goals on Monday, Nashville reached 266 goals on the campaign to match the single-season record, established by the 2006-07 team. Jason Arnott and David Legwand led the 2006-07 squad with 27 goals each.
• Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Tyson Barrie, Alexandre Carrier (roster management) and Cody Glass were scratched and did not skate in Monday’s game.