Filip Forsberg scored again on the power play, but the Nashville Predators fell to the Washington Capitals by a 4-1 final on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result sees the Preds finish the season series with a pair of losses to the Caps.
The Predators outshot Washington by a 33-16 count, and Nashville had their fair share of chances again, but they were unable to strike more than once as they began a five-game homestand on the wrong side of the scoresheet.
“It's a frustrating loss again,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “I felt like in the first two periods we were the better team, we got more of the game. They didn't have too many chances. I felt like we were creating a lot…but maybe in the third [period] early, we were a little bit sloppy, we didn't attack the game as much as we did the first two [periods]. They ended up scoring two, and that's kind of it. But it's frustrating, because I thought we were the better team tonight.”
“The first two periods were really good,” Forsberg said. “And then in the third [period], we’re still creating some chances, but we, for some reason, decided to stop doing what we did in the first two [periods] and just kind of let them back in the game. That was disappointing.”
Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the game’s opening 20 minutes, but both clubs took advantage on the power play in the middle frame. First, it was Tom Wilson who beat Juuse Saros to give the visitors a 1-0 lead, but Forsberg soon answered with an absolute snipe for his second power-play goal in as many games to even the score through two periods.
But in the third, Ethen Frank scored his first NHL goal before Andrew Mangiapane gave Washington a 3-1 lead, and then Alex Ovechkin got one tally closer to Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record with an empty-netter to finish the night.
“We had all kinds of chances, [and it’s] a little mystifying at times, standing on the bench, and things aren't going in,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “And give the guys a lot of credit, they're still swinging, they're still digging in, they're still, like I said, taking their swings. They're just missing right now… I think everybody's going through a heck of a year right now where nothing's really going their way… So, when you see that, you feel bad, because you can see the effort, you can see the try. Right now, nothing's really going our way, and there's nothing we can do except wake up and go back to work.
“I always believe, and I guess I'm starting to question myself, but I think if you get chances, sooner or later, they’re going to go in. But I think there's, I don't know how many games like this; I was counting the other day, like 20 some games that we just weren't able to finish, and it's frustrating, but it's where we're at right now.”
Notes:
Prior to Saturday’s game, the Predators recalled forward Kieffer Bellows from Milwaukee (AHL), but Bellows did not dress against the Capitals. Luke Evangelista was also out of the lineup and will miss approximately four weeks with a lower-body injury.
Josi became the fifth active defenseman to record 12 consecutive 20-assist seasons, joining Ryan Suter (13), John Carlson (12), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (12) and Victor Hedman (12).
Nashville’s homestand continues all week long at Bridgestone Arena when they welcome Vegas to town on Tuesday, Chicago on Thursday and Minnesota next Saturday.
