Roman Josi tied the game - and then he brought the house down.
Nashville’s captain tallied twice, including the OT winner - as the Predators defeated the Edmonton Oilers by a 4-3 final in overtime on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result gives the Preds six out of a possible eight points to finish their four-game homestand, and the most recent outing was perhaps the most satisfying.
Steven Stamkos and Erik Haula also found the back of the net, and Juuse Saros made 28 saves on the night, but it was Josi - with five points in the last two outings - who starred once again.
“It feels good, and it was an exciting game,” Josi smiled. “Obviously, Edmonton is a great team. Just the way to end it was pretty fun. The crowd was into it. It was a good atmosphere.”
“The takeaway? It's a huge win for us against a really good team,” Preds centerman Michael McCarron said. “It just shows that when we play hard any night, we can beat any team. So, more of that.”
Right off the opening puck drop, McCarron accepted an invitation from Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse to drop the gloves, and Nashville’s top scrapper set the tone in his home barn.
“He gets you fired up right away,” Josi said of McCarron. “I have so much respect for him for what he does, and he's an amazing player for us the way he plays on the fourth line. Fighting is hard. It's tough. It’s not easy. Whenever he has to step up, he does it. He steps up for our team, and like I said, I have so much respect for him and am really glad to have him on our team.”
The Predators had surrendered the first goal in 10 consecutive games, but on this occasion, Stamkos didn’t wait long to stop that streak when he beat Oilers goaltender Tristan Jarry just 2:45 into the contest with the 602nd tally of his NHL career.
The Oilers evened the score before the period was out on the power play, but early in the second stanza, Matthew Wood’s shot found Haula on a rebound, and the veteran centerman backhanded his eighth of the season into the cage for a 2-1 lead. After Edmonton tied the game once more, they then went in front with their second power-play marker of the night.
But, just 38 seconds later, Nick Blankenburg found Josi, and the captain’s clapper beat Jarry for his second goal in as many games and a 3-3 draw after 40 minutes of play.
“It’s just nice to see him out there healthy, having fun, being himself and helping our team win games,” Haula said of Josi. “He’s our captain and a vital part of the team and the organization, so it’s great.”
After the final frame solved nothing, it was Brady Skjei who corralled a loose puck in the slot and fed Josi who was ready near the goal line. The angle was tight, but No. 59’s one-timer still found twine as an exhausted Josi then waited for the bench to empty and come to him - a well-earned finish for one quality homestand.
