Roman Josi scored the lone Nashville goal, as the Predators fell to the Minnesota Wild by a 3-1 final on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result sees the Preds begin the 2026-27 season with a loss against a division rival with plenty of newcomers in the lineup.
The Predators had their moments in the opener, but an 0-for-4 mark on the man advantage - while allowing a power-play goal of their own - contributed to the result that saw Nashville unable to find the equalizer before the night was done.
“I thought the first period wasn't bad, like 5-on-5, but we took too many penalties, [and they] made us pay,” Josi said. “I think the second [period had] some good moments…but I didn't think our third was good. They had way too much zone time, couldn't get out of our zone a couple times; I felt like we could have pushed more in the third.”
“I thought we came out really good, and then we got in some penalty trouble,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “Some of the calls earlier in the year…they're just calls that they're going to happen if you're reckless with your stick, and a little the summer hockey recklessness kind of got us there a little bit and took the momentum from us… We were just a little loose or sloppy or slow with the puck, and [that] didn't help us get any kind of zone time. And when we did get zone time, we kind of gave the puck away. So, those are things that we’ll correct.”
Minnesota broke the ice when Nick Foligno put his club up 1-0 in the first period, and then Blake Coleman gave the Wild a 2-0 advantage on the power play. The visitors appeared to have taken a three-goal lead moments later, but a successful challenge for goaltender interference from the Preds kept them very much in the game.
Nashville cut the deficit in half when Josi one-timed a shot home just as a power play had expired in the middle frame for a 2-1 score, but that was as close as they came before Kirill Kaprizov put the Wild back up by two for good in the final frame.
“I mean, it was kind of hard to analyze,” Preds forward Filip Forsberg said of the game. “There's a little bit of back and forth, a lot of sloppy puck play from our side. Obviously, they got those two goals pretty early, and then it was a little bit uphill from there.”
“I thought the urgency was there, I thought we played hard, and I thought the first two periods, we had a lot of good moments,” Josi said. “I don't think there was a lack of urgency. I think we made some mistakes that we’ve got to get out of our game. But I thought urgency is there, and like I said, I was a little disappointed by our third period. I felt like we could have made more of a push there… We came out with a lot of urgency and a lot of energy, just made some mistakes."
The Preds will get back to work on Friday ahead of a Saturday night tilt against the Dallas Stars - another tough challenge against one of the League’s top teams.
“It's another similar game, similar team,” Forsberg said. “Obviously, a division rival that we have history with, so that'll be a lot of fun. Saturday night in Nashville, it’s always electric, but obviously we’ve got some work to do tomorrow, and then get ready for Saturday.”
Notes:
Prior to Thursday’s opener, the Predators named Jack Drury an alternate captain for the season to join Ryan O’Reilly, Steven Stamkos and Filip Forsberg. Stamkos and Forsberg wore the “A’s” on Thursday.
Defensemen Ilya Lyubushkin, Jack Ahcan and William Trudeau were scratched for the Preds on Thursday.
With an assist on Josi’s goal, Forsberg recorded a point in his 11th consecutive season opener to tie an NHL record, a mark Vincent Lecavalier (11 GP; 2002-03 – 2013-14) and Viktor Kozlov (11; 1997-98 – 2008-09) share.
Per NHLPR, Josi improved his totals in season openers to 3-5—8 (15 GP) and matched Ryan Suter (8 in 7 GP) for the most points by a Predators defenseman and third among all skaters in franchise history. The only players with more are Filip Forsberg (5-11—16) and David Legwand (6-6—12).
The Preds will host the Dallas Stars on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena to complete their first two-game homestead of the season before a roadtrip through eastern Canada next week.
