"We've got a really young group, and it seemed tonight like we didn't have the energy, the normal energy and competitiveness that we've been playing with, and execution," Nashville coach John Hynes said. "We've had much more energy and spark to our game. Tonight, guys were working, but we just didn't have it, and some of that comes down to the execution on the chances."
Roman Josi scored, and Juuse Saros made 19 saves for the Predators (34-25-7), who are four points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. Nashville has played three fewer games. The teams meet here Saturday.
"Obviously it's a disappointing loss," said Josi, the Predators captain. "Every point is huge right now. But we have a massive game coming up Saturday. It's a quick turnaround. We've got to look at this [game] tonight, but after that, we've got to forget about it and look forward to Saturday."