On St. Patrick’s Day in Winnipeg, the Predators had more than luck on their side.
Ryan O’Reilly and Juuse Saros teamed up in the shootout to defeat the Jets by a 4-3 final on Tuesday night at Canada Life Centre. The result sees the Preds victorious in the finale of their four-game trip out West to finish with five out of a possible eight points - and two more massive ones in Manitoba.
Erik Haula, Filip Forsberg and Matthew Wood tallied for the Predators in regulation time, and after a back-and-forth overtime solved nothing, Nashville got it done in the breakaway competition.
“Last game of a road trip, and it's a big one for us,” Wood said. “Those games are fun to play in - close games, meaningful games. It was fun to come out with the two points.”
“Proud of the group,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “It was a tough game. They're a desperate team, we’re a desperate team and I thought it was a good hockey game… So, credit to the group. They stuck together, and they rose up to the challenges, and obviously ‘Juice’ making the saves and shootout with ‘Factor’ had a beautiful goal.”
Haula gave his club a 1-0 lead in the opening period when he tipped in a Roman Josi point shot on the power play for his ninth of the season. But before the frame was out, Josh Morrissey evened the score for the Jets, and Winnipeg then took their first lead of the night when Gabriel Villardi converted on the man advantage early in the second.
But before the second stanza was done, Jonathan Marchessault fed Forsberg, and the winger deposited a beautiful one-timer past Connor Hellebuyck and into the top corner of the cage for a 2-2 draw though 40 minutes.
Then, Wood scored what was arguably the biggest goal of his young career when his wrist shot gave the Preds a 3-2 lead with less than six minutes to play.
“It's exciting, I think, organizationally and for our team, to watch him develop through the middle of the ice,” Brunette said of Wood. “I thought they had a really good chemistry with their line. Three-on-three, I thought he made some really good plays and very comfortable out there. So, we're watching [him grow] in front of our eyes…and hopefully continues to grab it.”
However, Jonathan Toews tied the game with a minute left in regulation to ensure each team got at least a point in the standings.
After both teams traded chances in overtime, O’Reilly scored the only goal of the shootout as Saros turned aside all three Jets skaters to give the visitors a much needed extra point and a gusty win.
“I thought parts of the game [we played] really well offensively,” Forsberg said. “Obviously, “Juice” made some good saves for us when we needed him. Overall, it was a pretty good effort. It's good to get two points from these guys as well.”
“I think it really shows the character, especially the leaders in this room,” Wood said. “And the young guys really want to make a name for themselves and earn their spot. I mean, everyone loves the game and wants to keep playing. It's a great atmosphere.”
From here, the Predators will finally head home to host a Seattle team they defeated to start the journey out West, and with the Kraken still just ahead of Nashville in the standings, there will be plenty to play for once more.
“I'm proud of the group,” Brunette said. “I mean, it hasn't been easy. We've gone through all kinds of different things. It's been a little bit of a roller coaster ride in a lot of different ways, and we’ve stayed together. Credit to the veterans, they've hung in there, they've pushed the young kids, they've pushed each other, and they're hungry. I think they want to make a statement. And we're in this fight, and I expect us to continue to be in it.”
Notes:
Joakim Kemell was Nashville’s lone healthy scratch on Tuesday night.
Per NHL PR, Matthew Wood (62 GP) became the third-fastest skater to score their first 15 NHL goals with Nashville, following Tanner Jeannot (48 GP) and Filip Forsberg (52 GP).
Ryan O’Reilly scored his 16th career shootout-deciding goal and tied Phil Kessel as well as Alex Ovechkin for 10th most in NHL history.
With their five-game stint away from home now complete, the Predators will return to Bridgestone Arena to host the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night to begin a stretch of three games in four days.
