Wood, Nilsson Lead Preds to Overtime Victory Against Lightning

Matthew Wood tied it, Felix Nilsson ended it. 

The Predators gave their fans a show as they scored three unanswered to come back and beat the Tampa Bay Lightning by a 3-2 final in overtime on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena. 

Down by two goals with less than seven minutes to play in regulation, Wood tallied twice before Nilsson scored at 2:33 of overtime to give the Preds their first win of the preseason. 

“I thought our compete level and our urgency rose, which is normal in an exhibition game,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “I think we're in such a hurry because it's such a short training camp, and sometimes we’ve just got to let it kind of organically get there with a little push instead of overreacting, but we'll continue to get better. I think everybody understands what's at stake. I think we're very focused on the first game, and this is a step in that direction.”

“I think it's just a credit to our leaders,” Wood said. “Even though they've been there, done that and they're unbelievable players, they show up for a preseason game down two goals and give their best effort. They're sacrificing their body and giving their best effort on a Tuesday night preseason and it's just really special to be playing with leaders like that.”

After neither club found the back of the net in the opening frame, the Lightning capitalized on a turnover and took a 1-0 lead early in the second stanza.

That score held until Wood’s line - with Filip Forsberg and Nils Hoglander on his wings - finally cashed in after a slew of chances as Wood tipped a Ryan Ufko shot into the twine.

Then, just over four minutes later, Wood scored again - this time as he drove to the Tampa Bay net with his 6-foot-4 frame - and beat Lightning goaltender Dennis Hildeby to force overtime. 

“I think there were a lot of guys that stepped up and did their thing,” Wood said. “Everyone has different roles, and I try to do mine the best I could, and I think everyone really stepped up… It was a great character win for us even though it was preseason.”

In the extra session, it was Nilsson whose shot from the slot just trickled over the line to complete the comeback.

“I just try to do my best, and hopefully that's enough,” Nilsson said. “I don't have really any expectations of this camp. I just want to go out there and have fun and do my best and see where it leads.”

“I think an evolution of a young player,” Brunette said on what he’s seen from Nilsson. “Coming in two years ago in the summer, you could see some of the headiness, and he was probably a little bit smaller, a little slighter, and then you see him grow through this year, even at development camp, and then even at camp now, it's almost like another level. So, you see an evolution of a very intelligent player. He's got a lot to bring, sees the game really well. He's a little bit cerebral on both sides of the puck, and he's an exciting young player for our organization.”

The line of Wood, Forsberg and Hoglander was particularly impressive in the win, combining for 12 of Nashville’s 26 shots on goal and creating offensive chances seemingly every time they were on the ice.

“I feel like it might have taken me a little bit to get into it, and then felt a little more comfortable as the game went on,” Wood said. “Obviosuly, Fil and Nils are really great players and fun to play with, so it was a lot of fun.”

“I thought they built off last year down the stretch when they played together,” Brunette said of Forsberg and Wood in particular. “I thought they were really good together. They feed off each other really well with their size and their puck protection abilities, and their little small area games. And it was pretty evident, especially that second and third period… I thought they controlled and dictated the game here for us tonight.”

The effort wasn’t perfect on Tuesday, but it never is this time of year. Instead, the Predators found a way to get better as the game went on, and by the end of the night, they had a victory. 

And although the wins don’t matter in the standings at this juncture, a triumph never hurts.

“I think we've had a really good camp as a team, and everyone's looking really good and ready to get the season going,” Wood said. “It definitely helps when you know the guys are on your team and moving the puck well, and it makes the game a lot more fun to play.”

“That’s a good experience for us,” Brunette said. “We have to go through that. We have to go through those hard things here somewhere. It's hard to replicate it when you go against each other every day, so today was a really good test for our group. I thought we got harder as it went on, and I think we'll learn a little something, and we'll be better next time out.”

Notes: 

Justus Annunen got the start in net for the Preds and made 25 saves in the win. 

Prior to Tuesday’s game, the Preds assigned 14 players - forwards John Farinacci, Aiden Fink, Hiroki Gojsic, Kalan Lind, Kyle Marino, Austin Roest, Oasiz Wiesblatt and Joey Willis; defensemen Andrew Gibson, Will Gilson, Kevin Gravel, Viggo Gustafsson and John Prokop; plus goaltender T.J. Semptimphelter - to Milwaukee of the AHL. 

Nashville’s preseason schedule continues this week as the Preds travel to Greensboro, North Carolina, to face the Hurricanes on Thursday. The two clubs will then meet again on Saturday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena in the preseason finale before the regular season begins next week.