Recap: Canes' Late Spark Not Enough In Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Trailing by four early in the third, the Carolina Hurricanes found late life with a pair of goals in 40 seconds, but the hill proved too tall to climb as they eventually fell 5-2 to the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Monday.

GAME SUMMARY | BOX SCORE | UPCOMING HOME GAMES

A goal in each of the first two periods gave Nashville a two-goal lead through 40 minutes, and another double in the first 2:52 of the third put the hosts firmly in the driver's seat.

The Canes went to work from there, finding twine through Jordan Staal and Sebastian Aho and outshooting the Predators 13-5 in the final frame, but the comeback bid came up short as Jonathan Marchessault potted an empty-netter for Nashville.

Dustin Tokarski made 20 saves on 24 shots in his second appearance as a Hurricane.

Stats & Standouts

• Per Natural Stat Trick, the Canes out-chanced Nashville by a whopping 25-7 margin in the third period. The problem? They only produced 23 chances through the first two periods combined, while coughing up 35 the other way. A slow start stifled the team in Washington and here again in Nashville, which Rod Brind'Amour keyed in on postgame and will look to correct coming out of the break.
• With a goal in the third, Sebastian Aho stretched his point streak to five games (4G, 2A). He's up to 11 goals, 25 assists and 36 points in 34 games this season.
• Stick taps to Jalen Chatfield, who skated in his 200th game with the Canes on Monday. The 28-year-old has recorded 17 goals, 31 assists and 48 points across four seasons with the club.

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour following the loss...

"It was 2-0 and we didn't do anything for two periods. We were lucky (we trailed) by only two... We make a little comeback, but the game's over at that point. We have to be better early. It was tough, I get it, with three games in four days and a back-to-back. We got to our game, it was just too late... Tonight, as a group, we weren't hard enough to play against for the majority of the game. We got what we deserved."

Sebastian Aho sharing his thoughts...

"It was kind of a wasted effort there at the end. The third period was fine. We got to our game finally, but honestly, it wasn't a good enough first 40. They kind of dictated the game in the first two periods and we have to be better (at) getting to our game quicker. They played a good game and we didn't play well enough."

Rod Brind'Amour summarizing where his team is at entering the holiday break...

"We started out good at the start of the season. We came out of the gate with 20 guys going good, then we tailed off a little. We've got a few guys (whose) game is just not there. We need them. Especially on nights like this. We need everyone to contribute and we're just missing some pieces... We'll keep trying. It's not a lack of effort. We just have to keep working to try and find the right combinations to spice things up. We have a couple of things that we know work, now it's just finding the rest to go."

What's Next?

The Canes are off for the league-mandated holiday break until Friday. They'll then start a home-and-home back-to-back set against the Devils.

Next Game: Friday, Dec. 27 at New Jersey | 7:00 pm

Next Home Game: Saturday, Dec. 28 vs. New Jersey | 7:00 pm | Tickets | Parking | Upcoming Theme Nights