Roman Josi had himself a three-point outing, and the Nashville Predators defeated the Washington Capitals by a 3-2 final on Sunday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result gets the Preds back into the win column for their second victory in three tries on the current homestand.
Josi, Steven Stamkos and Cole Smith all tallied for the Preds, and Justus Annunen collected his first victory after signing a two-year extension last week to give Nashville a well-earned two points to conclude their back-to-back set.
“It was good,” Josi said of bouncing back after Saturday’s loss. “Obviously it's a lot of games back-to-back, and we knew it was going to be hard tonight against a really good team. I think, especially our third, I thought we played really well. It was a hard game, and we kind of needed to bounce back after last night and get two points. So, it's huge.”
“It was big,” Stamkos said of the win. “We talked about on this stretch that we don't want to lose back-to-back games. It just felt like one of those games where it was just up for grabs. They pushed a little, we pushed a little. They got a power-play goal, we got a power-play goal. It was just one of those games where, obviously back-to-back for us, we just had to find a way in the third, and give our group credit, they did. We got the saves when we needed them. We got the power-play goals when we needed them, and we got some nice blocks, and good defensive plays at the end to shut it down. So, it was a win we needed.”
Alex Ovechkin gave the Capitals the first lead of the night when he one-timed a shot from the left circle into the cage off a 5-on-3 power play, but Stamkos countered with the exact same play to even the score with a Predators man advantage later in the opening frame - an extra bit of entertainment from two of the greatest goal scorers in NHL history.
“I mean, it was a heck of a shot by Ovechkin, and then to see ‘Stammer’ do it in the same game is pretty cool,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “I mean, that's about 1,500 goals [between the two of them], and for them to hit at the same spot, probably the two greatest goal scorers of our generation, or at least the last 20 years, and to have them do it in the same night, in the same building, on the same ice, I think is pretty special. It’s a treat for anybody that was able to watch this game today, because I don't know if it’ll ever happen again with that many goals scored at the same spot, the same kind of place, ever.”
After the second stanza went scoreless, Smith needed just 1:12 into the final period to beat Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren from the slot by going top shelf for Nashville’s first lead of the night.
Then, less than three minutes later, Josi took advantage of a 5-3 opportunity for the Preds when he hammered a shot off the far post and in for a two-goal lead and his third point of the contest.
“Obviously he had a big game with three points, but I think if you look back at when things started to turn around, it's because Roman came back in the lineup [from injury],” Stamkos said of Nashville’s captain. “So, regardless of if the points are coming, you look at our group, there's no one running away with points on our team. It's just the reality of our team, in terms of we need everyone, and it's a collective group effort… We’re not sitting here judging [Josi’s] game by points. He's an anchor for us back there, and that's why I said this thing turned around when he came back in the lineup, and that goes to show the impact you have.”
Washington pressed for the equalizer the rest of the way, and although they added another power-play goal in the third, Annunen made 28 saves overall - and nine in the final frame - to earn the victory.
“I think recently, we've found ways to win games, which is huge for us,” Josi said. “I feel like the second [period], they kind of had a lot of pressure and 'Big Juice’ was amazing in that. And he's been unreal every game. We said after the second, we’ve got to get back on the attack, take this game, and find a way.”
The Preds did just that, and while the games won’t stop coming, they’ll take a moment to enjoy Sunday’s win before the Oilers come to town on Tuesday - another challenge this Predators team is eager to embrace.
“I think a little bit of it speaks of the resilience of our group that we've built up,” Brunette said. “We've gone through stuff together. I've said this for a little while, but I don't know if we've ever been tighter, and nights like tonight grow that tightness. We know we’ve got a lot of work ahead, we know we're not perfect, but we will rebound. We're going to hang in there, and we're going to give it our best, and as a coach, that's all you can ask for… There’s a belief in that group that if we do the things that allow us to be successful, we're going to give ourselves a good chance.”
Notes:
Nashville went with the same collection of skaters on Sunday night as the previous outing with Justin Barron as the lone healthy scratch.
Per NHL PR, Steven Stamkos scored his 601st career goal to tie Jari Kurri for 21st place on the NHL’s all-time list. Stamkos’ 233rd career power-play goal moved him past Dino Ciccarelli (232) for 10th place in League history.
Roman Josi reached 745 career points to pass Mark Howe (742) and Mathieu Schneider (743) for 26th place on the NHL’s all-time list among defensemen.
The Predators will conclude their four-game homestand on Tuesday night when the Edmonton Oilers come to town.
