Preds Taking Positives from Preseason Loss to Tampa Bay

Ryan Ellis tied the game late in the second period, but Tampa Bay broke through in the third to ultimately top the Nashville Predators, 5-2, on Saturday night in preseason action at Amalie Arena.
Two empty-net tallies for the home team make the score look worse than it was, however. It was a game the Predators felt could have gone either way, and they say there was still plenty to like, all things considered.
"The guys played hard tonight, and the result was unfortunate," Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. "We fight back to 2-2, and we give up that 4-on-4 goal, that was tough… But we brought a lot of young guys in the lineup and different players, and I thought they played hard tonight."
"For having to get off the plane and come play a game, I thought this group came out and worked really hard," Ellis said. "There's not much more you can ask for than working hard... I thought we played a very good game for the most part, and sometimes it just doesn't go your way."

It took just over three minutes into the contest for Viktor Arvidsson to lift a pass to Calle Jarnkrok on a 2-on-1 break, and Jarnkrok directed the puck out of the atmosphere and into the net for a 1-0 Nashville lead after 20 minutes.
It appeared the Lightning would go into the second intermission up 2-1, but with 0.8 seconds remaining on the clock, Ellis blasted home a shot after Kyle Turris and Arvidsson teamed up on a set faceoff play executed to perfection.

But Tampa Bay took the lead with seven minutes to play in the third period, before they added two more into an empty net to end the night. Juuse Saros played the entire game, stopping 18 shots in total.
Just like that, the Predators now only have essentially a week to go in training camp with two more preseason contests to play. For those who will remain on the roster as the week goes along, the time has come to really begin to settle in and establish the standard of play that the Preds would like to see once the regular season begins.
"Just overall, getting back in our systems and really perfecting our system [will be key]," Ellis said. "At times throughout the preseason our systems have somewhat broken down, and we've fixed them on the fly, but more or less, just getting comfortable with everyone again and getting ready for two more big games - and then kickoff."

Notes:
The Predators now have two preseason games remaining, both against the Carolina Hurricanes. The first comes Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena, before the final dress rehearsal prior to the regular season takes place in Carolina on Sept. 30.