The comeback fell short as the Nashville Predators dropped a 5-3 decision to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result sees the Preds drop consecutive games for the first time since November as they began a three-game homestand.
Ryan O’Reilly tallied twice, and Filip Forsberg added another, but after the Predators found themselves down by four goals early in the second period, the deficit ultimately proved too large to overcome.
“We didn't move, we didn't work, we didn't compete,” Forsberg said of Nashville's start. “They were faster and stronger. They won the puck battles. I think it was pretty simple. We had a choice to make going into the second - it was either quit or actually start trying. I thought we did a great job with that for the rest of the game, dominated and pushed hard until the end. But go down 4-0 in this League, it's certainly not looking bright for you. I think a huge lesson for us to learn, obviously, with that start.”
“We weren't really ready to compete, and it took us a little while to get going,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “I thought they out worked us. They outcompeted us. They wanted it more, and we didn’t in the first period. And it was pretty evident for everybody that watched the game… At this time of year when we know these points are so valuable, you can't take any solace in saying you played a good second half of the game. The game was lost in the first period.”
After the Sabres took a 3-0 lead in the game’s opening period, Buffalo got a fourth early in the second stanza which led the Predators to pull goaltender Juuse Saros in favor of Justus Annunen. But then, Nashville tried for a comeback.
First, it was O’Reilly who beat Alex Lyon through the five-hole on a delayed penalty call, and just minutes later, Forsberg’s shot from the left circle found twine to bring the Preds to within two.
The Predators almost evened the score before the period was out as a Brady Skjei shot hit iron and another chance saw Lyon make a save right on the goal line, but O’Reilly potted his second of the night midway through the third period to bring Nashville to within one.
That was as close as the home team came, however, before Buffalo added an empty-netter to finish a game that left the Predators disappointed in their start.
“We dug ourselves a hole we couldn't get back out of,” O’Reilly said. “When we do play our game and have the urgency and the desperation, we're a very good team. I think we had the momentum and control of the game, but just the hole we dug was too deep. We're going to have times where we lose momentum and things don't go our way, but to do it for a full period, that's not us. You can't be doing that. It's too tough. So, there's opportunities in that. Sure, we had a bad start, but we could have responded quicker and kept ourselves in it. And it's unfortunate because it's one we just kind of let slip.”
The Predators will have a chance to make amends on Thursday when they host Ottawa, and Tuesday’s start is sure to be top of mind as they work to get back in the win column.
“We're a great team in here, we just have to play like it,” Forsberg said. “We can't keep giving teams big leads. We’re a heck of a team when we play the way we did in the second and the third. We lost the game in the first period. Simple as that.”
Notes:
Preds winger Ozzy Wiesblatt was activated from Injured Reserve and made his return to the lineup after missing 21 games with an upper-body injury. Prior to Tuesday’s game, the Predators reassigned forward Reid Schaefer to Milwaukee (AHL).
Defenseman Adam Wilsby remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury; forward Tyson Jost was Nashville’s lone healthy scratch.
The homestand continues on Thursday for the Predators as they host the Ottawa Senators with Captain Roman Josi set to appear in his 1,000th NHL game.
