Zach L’Heureux and Matthew Wood found the back of the net in Buffalo, but the Nashville Predators fell to the Sabres by a 3-2 final on Saturday night at KeyBank Center. The result sees the Preds drop the first of a five-game stretch away from home in their first outing past the NHL Trade Deadline.
The Predators certainly had their chances against the Sabres and outshot their opponent by one, but Buffalo ultimately won their sixth in a row to keep the Preds just outside of the playoff picture.
“I think it was kind of an even game,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “Obviously they're a very good offensive team, and I feel like we played them pretty well in the first and even second [periods] for some parts, and then they got some momentum there with the two goals. They’re a dangerous team, and I think we had the puck a little too much in the second period, and kind of made us pay, and had our looks at the end.”
“I thought we played a good hockey game,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “It was a battle. Unfortunately, starting the third period with that goal against and coming to chase it, [but] I feel like our game’s in a really good spot. Lost a little momentum there in the second, a couple of little mistakes that we made, but we had our looks at the end and didn't go in. So, a lot of good in the game. It was a kind of a playoff-type game. There wasn't a lot of room there. They're a really good team, and we have to find some space against it.”
After neither team found the back of the net in the opening frame, it was L’Heureux who took a feed from Jonathan Marchessault and sniped home his first of the season to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. But before the second stanza was out, Buffalo tallied twice for a 2-1 advantage headed into the third.
The Sabres went up by two less than a minute into that final period, but the Preds continued to push before Wood tipped in a Josi shot on the power play with less than four minutes to play. Nashville nearly tied the game in the final minute, but they were unable to force overtime before the evening was through.
The Predators will eventually head out west to continue this trip with a date against the Kraken on Tuesday in Seattle, and their mindset remains the same - stay in the hunt, win the week and continue to push for a spot they believe they can attain.
“Make a push for the playoffs,” Josi said of the mindset. “We talked about it. This is the team going forward. I think we were kind of in this position three years ago where you sold a couple pieces and we kind of made a push for the playoff spot. And this year, [it's] no different. We want to make a push. We're right there. We’ve got some big games coming up, and it hasn't changed [since the trade deadline] and our goal is still to make the playoffs.”
“We're in it,” Brunette said. “[It would have been good to] get some points out of tonight. This group stays resilient. We'll come back and we know we get a big game against a team we're chasing on Tuesday. So, we’ll rest up, lots of good in this game, kind of a recipe for road points, and we'll take that recipe on the road with us.”
Notes:
Preds center Ryan O’Reilly returned to the lineup after missing Thursday’s game with an upper-body injury. Winger Reid Schaefer was Nashville’s lone healthy scratch.
Jonathan Marchessault recorded his 300th career assist on L’Heureux’s tally.
After a stop in Buffalo, the Predators will eventually head west for the next week and a half with games in Seattle, Vancouver, Edmonton and Winnipeg on the docket. The Preds will face the Kraken on Tuesday night.
