Nashville Predators: Rally not good enough for sleepy start in Game 1

The Nashville Predators dropped Game 1 of the Qualifying Round against the Arizona Coyotes as the Preds season could be on the verge of ending.

The Nashville Predators hit the ice for the first time in months as they continue their fight for the Stanley Cup. Unfortunately, with the long time off between real games, the Predators were caught sleeping against the Coyotes.

You would think that the Coyotes were playing in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals with the way they came out. Arizona hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2012, and in their return, they were faster and more aggressive than the Preds for the first two periods of the game.

If your opponent is faster and more aggressive than you for 67% of the game, it’s going to be tough to come back and beat them. That was exactly the case for Nashville.

The Coyotes took a quick 3-1 lead at the end of the first period and extended that lead to 4-1 in the second period leaving the Preds to need three goals to tie the Coyotes and four goals to win.

Filip Forsberg tried to rally the Predators with two goals in the third period but the comeback fell short 4-3. If the Preds could’ve had a bit better of a start, then we could be talking about a Predators win but it was a tough start and it took a while for the Preds to figure things out.

Juuse Saros was given the nod at goalie to start the postseason for the Predators, and that seemed like a mistake almost immediately. With one game down in this five-game series, Saros and the Predators can’t afford another game like that if they want to continue playing for the next few weeks.

Game 2 will be Tuesday, and if the Preds go down 0-2, then it’s going to be difficult to gain enough momentum to win three in a row against the Coyotes.