“It’s a big win for us - gutsy win,” O’Reilly said. “Coming off the road, energy was kind of low and a tough, long trip, [but we] found a way to get it done. I thought everyone played hard tonight. ‘Juice’ was unbelievable; made some huge stops for us. Obviously, the shootout shuts the door like that - that was amazing. But, guys stuck with it, guys worked tonight and got a big win.”
“It was a great game for us,” Preds winger Cole Smith said. “There were obviously some ups and downs and battling back again, down one goal. But you see the resilience in here. We've been down a lot lately, which we want to turn and get on the board early. But the resilience in here to be able to come back and push it and play hard minutes at the end and get a win, it's huge.”
Neither team found the back of the net in the opening period, but the Islanders converted in the second stanza with a goal from Simon Holmstrom for a 1-0 advantage. But, before the frame was out, and with the Preds shorthanded, Smith found O’Reilly streaking to the net, and the veteran centerman beat goaltender David Rittich to even the score at 1-1 after 40 minutes of play.
In the third, Islanders Captain Anders Lee made contact with Saros which set off a scrum, and Saros himself even got in a couple of shoves in the melee before he had the final say.
“It was awesome,” Smith said of Saros. “He's fiery. I mean, he's a competitive son of a gun and he wants to win. It's awesome to see.”
“Obviously 'Juice’ was fired up and shut the door,” O’Reilly said. “He made them pay. So, it was impressive of him. He was unbelievable tonight, and all year, he's been outstanding for us. He’s a huge reason why we won that game tonight.”
Perhaps the fact legendary Preds goaltender Pekka Rinne was in the building helped a bit as well. Saros seemed to think so.
“Pekka is here tonight, so as always, you want to show up for him, too,” Saros smiled while referring to his mentor. “I feel like he's a lucky charm, so he’s got to come more often.”
Even though they were back home for the first time in almost three weeks, Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette mentioned Thursday morning his team would need to possess more of a road mentality to find success against the Islanders - and through a gritty, greasy contest, they did just that.
“It was going to be a mucky game,” Brunette said. “They're a really stingy defensive team. We came off a tough trip, and we got in late yesterday, so it felt like a road game to a lot of our group. So, I thought we wanted to have that road mentality where we're simple, direct and hard… I thought we played a good hockey game all the way through, and ‘Juice’ made some unbelievable saves in overtime and the shootout, and we got a big win for our group.”
“We're responding the right way,” O’Reilly said. “We're learning, maturing as a group. And it's important. That’s what you have to do in this League… I thought we responded well [after Tuesday’s loss in Edmonton]. Everyone came ready to work, and we’ve got to keep doing that if we want to go to the playoffs.”
Notes:
Matthew Wood rejoined the Nashville lineup on Thursday as the Preds went back to dressing 12 forwards and six defensemen. Justin Barron was Nashville’s only healthy scratch.
Per NHL PR, Ryan O'Reilly scored on the penalty kill to tie the game at 1-1. It marked the first time since 2020-21 he has two shorthanded goals in a season – only five players have more in 2025-26: Joel Armia (4), Blake Coleman (3), Sam Reinhart (3), Joel Farabee (3) and Ryan McLeod (3).
The Predators continue their four-game homestand with a back-to-back weekend set as they host Chicago on Saturday and Washington on Sunday.
