Nashville Predators: Recapping their first 2 preseason games

The Nashville Predators had their first two preseason games of the season on the road on Monday against the Florida Panthers, winning both of them.

The Nashville Predators were able to win both of their preseason matchups on Monday against the Florida Panthers. They were able to put a good bit of goals on the board, as they scored five goals in both games.

Preseason games should be taken as a grain of salt, but either way, it’s good to see the Predators put some goals on the board and get two wins.

40 different Predators were able to see action between the two games on Monday.

Game 1

The Nashville Predators were able to shutout the Florida Panthers in Game 1 on Monday afternoon behind solid goaltending from Juuse Saros and Tom McCollum. Saros was outstanding in goal for the Predators, saving all 24 of the shots he faced in the 52 minutes he was on the ice. McCollum, who was on the ice for just over seven minutes, faced just three shots, saving all of them.

Despite the Panthers outshooting the Predators in the 1st period, the Predators finished up outshooting the Panthers 31-27.

Calle Jarnkrok got the Predators on the board first on a powerplay goal, assisted by Viktor Arvidsson and Kyle Turris. P.K. Subban increased the Predators lead to two goals at the 12:47 mark in the 2nd period on one of his classic slapshot goals.

The Nashville Predators took a 2-0 lead into the 2nd intermission, before scoring three more goals in the 3rd period. Rocco Grimaldi scored a goal early in the 3rd period for the Predators. They then scored two more goals in a two-minute span. Filip Pyrochta scored a shorthanded goal at the 15:30 mark, assisted by Miikka Salomaki and Colton Sissons. Frederick Gaudreau then scored an unassisted goal just over a minute later to put the Predators lead at 5-0.

All three stars of the game were Predators players. Subban was the 1st star for his one goal, while Grimaldi and Jarnkrok were the 2nd and 3rd star of the game for their goals.

The Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers then faced off for Game 2 just a few hours later.

Game 2

The Nashville Predators had a slower start in this game but that didn’t affect the outcome. The Panthers got on the board first, as Nick Bjugstad snuck one past Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne with just under five minutes left in the 1st period.

Filip Forsberg tied things up at the 7:36 mark of the 2nd period on a powerplay goal, assisted by Ryan Ellis and Kevin Fiala. Jacob McDonald put the Panthers back in the lead, sneaking a goal past Troy Grosenick.

The Predators didn’t take long to tie things back up, as Ryan Johansen scored under a minute later. Kevin Fiala gave the Predators their first lead of the game at the 15:47 mark of the 2nd period.

Forsberg scored his second goal of the game midway through the 3rd period to give the Predators a 4-2 lead over the Panthers. The Panthers cut the Predators to lead with just under a minute left in the game on a powerplay goal from Patrick Bajkov. Forsberg then completed the hat trick with just 14 seconds left in the game to give the Predators their second win of the day by the score of 5-3.

To no surprise, Forsberg earned the 1st star of the game after a three goal, one assist performance. Fiala, who was in the right place at the right time, earned the 2nd star of the game as he finished with one goal and four assists, including an assist on each one of Forsberg’s goals.

Although the first line in this game won’t stay, it was good to see them show out. The first line, which consisted of Fiala, Johansen, and Forsberg, put up all five of the goals and totaled 13 points.

Takeaways from the Games

Like I mentioned earlier, take these preseason games with a grain of salt, as many teams don’t usually put their best players out there all the time. But after these two games, you can take away a good number of positives from the Predators play.

Saros looked really good in goal for the Predators. He faced 24 shots and saved all of them, which is good news for the Predators. Like last season, the Predators will continue to give Saros more and more starts, so it’s good to see Saros start out on a good note.

Another positive to take away from the Predators and their two games on Monday is the offense. It looked like the Predators offense didn’t miss a beat, scoring five goals in both of the games. Once again, Forsberg looked outstanding, scoring three goals and assisting on another goal. The Predators will again look to ride with Forsberg and his success to put together another successful campaign this season.

Fiala also looked good on Monday night for the Predators. He finished with a goal and four assists. Last year towards the end of the year, second line players like Fiala, Kyle Turris, and Craig Smith struggled, so it’s good to see a guy like Fiala come out of the gate firing, finishing with five points in just one game.

Up Next

The Nashville Predators next matchup will be this Friday night, as the Tampa Bay Lightning head to Bridgestone Arena. The Lightning have yet to play a preseason game so far, but they will have two matchups earlier this week against the Carolina Hurricanes before heading to Nashville.

Puck drop will be at 7:00 PM Central on Friday. The two teams will then head to Tampa Bay a day later to face off yet again.