The Nashville Predators began a three-game homestand with a 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result brings an end to Nashville’s four-game point streak in a game against the defending Western Conference champions.
Ryan O’Reilly and Adam Edstrom scored for the Preds, and Nashville certainly had their chances, but Vegas pulled away in the third period and left the home team wanting more from their effort.
“Well, it was a little self-inflicted,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “I thought we kind of set up our game pretty good early, and then the power play, giving up what we gave up, basically two shorthanded goals and multiple opportunities - it kind of lost momentum for our group, and we can't afford that. We're playing small margins here, and when we do the things we did, and on the power play especially, it's a recipe for what we got tonight.”
O’Reilly needed just 3:55 into the game to pounce on a rebound and give the Preds a 1-0 lead, but a pair of Vegas goals shortly after Nashville power plays - combined with an unsuccessful penalty shot attempt from Jack Drury - saw the visitors with a 2-1 lead after the first.
“It was there for us,” O’Reilly said. “We crawled back into it, [but the] big thing was the power play… We gave them so much off it. Just their team with a lot of skill on their penalty kill, and they're just looking for opportunities. I mean, that kind of sparked them once they get two goals [just after] the penalty kill for them. That just kind of gave them life, and that's disappointing.”
In the middle frame, it was Edstrom who was denied on a partial shorthanded break, but the 6-foot-7 winger then collected the puck behind the net before sweeping back in front and using his reach for his third of the season to tie the game at two.
“I'm just trying to stick to the basics,” Edstrom said. “Play a hard-nosed game, use my skating, use my size, and it's worked well so far. So, just kind of keep on building on the chemistry and work on that.”
The Golden Knights regained the lead before the middle frame was out, however, and they added two more in the third period to hand the Preds just their second regulation loss in six tries.
“I still don't feel we're in rhythm offensively,” Brunette said. “I think a lot of it, we're really having trouble sustaining puck battles and using close support. Some of the things that we preach and we try to do, we throw too many pucks away, careless a little bit in the offensive zone, and [that] led to some odd man rushes. For plays that really aren't even high-end plays, we just throw them pucks, and it's a little perplexing. It's something we talk about every day, something we need to be better, because we're not.”
Nashville’s homestand continues on Thursday against San Jose, and the Preds will look to limit their mistakes while putting forth a more consistent effort.
“[We need to play] a complete, 60-minute game,” Edstrom said. “I feel like there's been ups and downs all season, but I feel like we still haven't really played a solid 60 minutes, and that's something we have to get up to pace and do.”
Notes:
The Predators dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen on Tuesday, with forward Mavrik Bourque remaining out with an upper-body injury. Reid Schaefer and Ilya Lyubushkin were also scratched.
Nashville’s homestand continues on Thursday night when the San Jose Sharks come to town, followed by a tilt with the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.
