Saros makes 23 saves, Predators shut out Kraken

NASHVILLE – Juuse Saros made 23 saves for the Nashville Predators in a 3-0 win against the Seattle Kraken at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.

It was the 21st shutout of his career.

“I feel good,” Saros said. “I just try to keep building my game. In games, there’s always something where you might be a little bit rusty in some situations, so I try to be the best I can. I take reminders of all of the situations that are going on, stay humble and work hard.”

Andrew Brunette, who was hired as coach May 31, got his first win with the Predators (1-1-0).

“It was really cool,” Brunette said. “The introductions and the start of the game reminded me of a different time when I was way younger and less gray. I got more gray as the game went on. Once you’re a player and you’ve put on a Predators uniform, even though you’re not a player, you always feel like you’re still a player. You still have all of the jitters and the excitement. It was fun to be part of tonight for sure, and to get a win makes it extra special.”

Philipp Grubauer made 32 saves for the Kraken (0-2-0), who lost 4-1 to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.

“[Grubauer] has been solid both nights here,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “He’s given us good opportunities and has played very well. He’s been sharp. He’s seeing the puck well. I’ve really liked his competitive level. He played a good hockey game tonight.”

Colton Sissons gave Nashville a 1-0 lead at 10:24 of the second period on a short-handed breakaway over Grubauer's blocker after a pass from Cole Smith.

“It was a tight hockey game,” Hakstol said. “The turning point at the middle of the game was giving up the short-handed goal. They took a lot of momentum out of that for the second half of the second period. In terms of, I wouldn’t say ‘chaotic’ is the word, but on the offensive side, a few too many missed nets.”

Gustav Nyquist made it 2-0 at 10:03 of the third period when his centering pass deflected off the skate of Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson and into the net during a delayed penalty. It was Nyquist’s first goal with the Predators after signing as an unrestricted free agent July 1.

“I thought we did a good job of carrying the momentum and not giving it back to them too many times there,” Nashville defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. “We had to play a little patient game too. We did a lot better job not forcing plays and feeding their transition. That’s a fast team over there with a lot of skill, so if you feed them with some turnovers, they can make you pay. But I think we learned some lessons playing against [the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, a 5-3 loss]. We stayed out of the box a lot better, managed the puck a lot better and you could see our forechecking game take over.”

Juuso Parssinen scored an empty-net goal at 18:19 for the 3-0 final.

“You try not to hurt yourself by taking penalties and turning pucks over,” McDonagh said. “We talked about just staying within our structure, staying fast, being aggressive. When there’s a play to be made, try to make it, but if not, just play a little bit more high percentage. You could see us doing that tonight, getting more [offensive] zone time with the forechecking game. It was a lot more fun to play tonight than the other night.”

NOTES: Saros is the second Predators goalie to get a shutout in a home opener (Chris Mason, Oct. 4, 2007). His 21st shutout moved him into a tie with Tomas Vokoun for second in Predators history behind Pekka Rinne (60). ... Nashville defenseman Luke Schenn did not play because of a lower-body injury. He was replaced by defenseman Dante Fabbro, who had one shot on goal and one blocked shot in 18:21 of ice time. ... Kraken forward Tye Kartye played 8:44 in his NHL debut. He finished with three shots on goal. ... Seattle forward Brandon Tanev missed the game because of an undisclosed injury he sustained against the Golden Knights on Tuesday. … Kraken forward Kailer Yamamoto was minus-3 in 11:26.