More than a year had passed since Nick Blankenburg’s last overtime shift at the NHL level. On Saturday afternoon, he made the most of the opportunity.
The defenseman recorded his first-career overtime winner as the Nashville Predators defeated the Los Angeles Kings by a 3-2 final in the extra session at Bridgestone Arena. The result gives the Preds points in all three contests of their current homestand with victories in three of their last five overall.
Zach L’Heureux and Jonathan Marchessault also found the back of the net in the win, and Justus Annunen made 22 saves in his first home start as a member of the Predators as Nashville reversed their overtime fortunes to secure the victory.
“I feel like I've had some good chances over the last little bit,” Blankenburg said. “I've just continued to trust in my game, just very thankful for the opportunity to go out in OT and just happy I was able to score.”
“In overtime, it's nice to be on the other side,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “Feels like all year we're on the wrong side of these types of games, especially when they were overtime… It was a big win. And [Blankenburg], really happy for him. It was a big goal for us.”
L’Heureux gave the Preds a 1-0 lead late in the opening period when he took a beautiful, behind-the-back feed from Gustav Nyquist in front and deposited the puck past Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper for his fourth of the season.
Then, in the middle frame, a bang-bang play saw Marchessault whistled for hooking immediately prior to him scoring what would have been his 10th of the season. But, just moments later, Preds Captain Roman Josi - who returned to the lineup after missing four games due to injury - drove to the net off a nifty toe-drag around a defender and found Marchessault on the doorstep for an easy tap-in and a 2-0 Nashville advantage.
“We missed him, obviously,” Brunette said of Josi. “It was a heck of a play. And just his whole game just changes, a little bit, the dynamic of our group.”
However, goals from Quinton Byfield and Alex Laferriere in the third period saw the Predators surrender their two-goal lead to require overtime. But then, in the extra frame, Blankenburg went to the net, picked up a Filip Forsberg rebound and tucked it neatly into the cage to start the bedlam inside Bridgestone Arena.
“What is the saying, ‘Ted Lasso,’ to try and be a goldfish and [have a] 10-second memory?” Blankenburg smiled. “Definitely trying to put that into practice. I just think the team was really resilient. We’ve been playing good lately and may not be getting the results, but it's almost like one of those stories where it's like, ‘Oh no, not again,’ when it's 2-2. A lot of credit to the guys in just continuing to battle back and obviously get the job done in OT.”
“It’s really special to get your first OT goal,” Josi said. “It's definitely a special moment, and there's a lot of tension in OT. [Blankenburg has] been playing so well for us, and he's such a great player. So for him to get that one was special. And for the team too, it's been, I don't know how many OTs that we lost, so to get a win here is huge.”
From here, the Predators have one more matchup to go on their four-game homestand before the Christmas break, and the chance to head into the holiday hiatus feeling festive is something they’re very much looking forward to.
“It's good for the confidence of everybody,” L’Heureux said. “I think we've been on kind of a hotter streak lately; we're playing better. Obviously it was huge to get that win. We're really motivated, one game before Christmas, and we want to close out this homestand on the right side.”
Notes:
Josi returned to the Nashville lineup after missing four games with a lower-body injury. Forward Juuso Parssinen and defenseman Justin Barron were scratched on Saturday.
Per NHL Public Relations, Roman Josi (22-58—80 in 75 GP) recorded his 80th regular-season point in 2024 and became the first European defensemen to record multiple 80-point calendar years (also 95 points in 2022).
The Preds will conclude their four-game homestand on Monday night when they welcome the Carolina Hurricanes to town for the final outing before the NHL’s Christmas break Dec. 24-26.
