Cody Glass Earns First Career Hat Trick in Predators Eighth Straight Win

When Smashville looks back on March 2, 2024, the number eight will appear with prominence. 

Cody Glass recorded his first career hat trick and Juuse Saros iced another dominant performance in net as the Nashville Predators defeated the Colorado Avalanche, 5-1, to earn their eighth win in a row on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena.

“It was huge,” Glass said. “[Colorado] is one of the best teams in our division, it’s a division game and we're on a seven-game win streak and we could be OK with maybe taking the foot off the gas, but we wanted to keep pushing and we had a great third period and came up with a win.”

“It’s a big win,” Predators forward Ryan O’Reilly said. “They’ve got a great team over there that I felt we did a really great job frustrating. It’s been a good stretch and we’ve got to keep things rolling. Everyone's contributing now, and it's really one of the most fun times I’ve had playing hockey. Everyone's just connected and working for each other and when things go wrong, you just see everyone’s got each other's back and we find a way to change momentum. It's so much fun to be part of and we’ve just got to keep things rolling.”

The Predators have now matched the second-longest winning streak in franchise history, established during the 2005-06 season, and moved to 35-25-2 on the campaign and 17-15-0 at Bridgestone Arena.

QUICK HITS

A Hat Trick & Hat Tip for Glasser

Ryan McDonagh wasn’t going to let his teammate leave the ice without the hat trick.

With an empty net on Colorado’s end of the ice and the clock ticking down into the final seconds of Saturday’s contest, the veteran blueliner made a selfless pass over to Glass, who launched a deep shot into the twine for his third goal of the evening.

Of course, speaking to the media after the personal milestone, Glass made a selfless pass back to his team.

“My teammates are so great to me, the coaching staff, all of them,” Glass said. “It was a thrill, and it was a good feeling… I think [my teammates] wanted it more than I did. I didn't want to put any pressure on myself. I just tried to do what I was doing the whole game and they were trying to find me the whole time. We have a great team here. To be on an eight-game win streak, everybody's pulling on the same rope and we're all just kind of working hard for each other and it showed at the end of the game.”

The accomplishment was not only satisfying to Glass, who’s battled injury for much of the 2023-24, but to those closest to him as well. 

“It’s so special,” O’Reilly said. “Obviously the injuries he's battled through this year and getting healthy and getting back to how hard he's worked… He was a big spark for us tonight, with big goals and big, timely goals. And that spark gives us that momentum. But it was definitely well-deserved, and it was great to see him get that.”

“It's awesome,” linemate Colton Sissons said. “He's been through a lot. I mean, the reaction on the bench says it all. We’re all pulling for him and we all care about each other deeply in here, and that's what it's all about. Sometimes you don't play your best, sometimes you lose your confidence. And it's about picking yourself up and having some guys around you to help you along the way. And he's done a great job, so we're all proud of him.”

Glass’ first of the evening cracked the score in favor of the home team, and his second earned him his first game-winning goal of the season and the first multi-goal performance of his career.

Dominant in the Third

Nashville toughed out a close fight with their Central Division rival through the game’s first 40 minutes, with shots on goal an even 10-10 in the first period, then 11-9 in favor of the home team in the middle frame.

Nashville entered the third period leading 2-1, but as they’ve done many times in the last eight games, pressed their feet to the gas even more, scoring three unanswered goals and outshooting their opponent 16-7 en route to the 5-1 victory.

“Obviously in the first two periods, we did some good things, but we didn’t want to sit back,” O’Reilly said. “We were in a good spot with the lead, but we knew we had to keep the pressure on and stay on them. And obviously, the power play was big to get that goal to give us the go-ahead there, but it's just about staying aggressive in those times. When it gets tight, you can't back away, especially against a team like that with their skill. If we let our foot off the gas, they’re going to make us pay. And we just kind of leaned into it and everyone was going.”

“I think it’s a little bit of growth, a little bit of understanding,” Predators Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “I think early on, we lost a little bit of our composure and probably weren't connected, that was a big thing in the third period. Now that we're starting to get a little confidence, I thought we've dictated instead of letting the other team dictate to us, and I think that's been a big thing. We didn't change our game. Early in the year, I think at times, maybe we did a little bit. Now we have a little bit of the recipe of how to do things the right way and we're all buying in.”

Six-Straight Saros

Saros iced another stellar performance between the pipes on Saturday, and kept his team in the lead after shutting down a dangerous breakaway chance from Nathan MacKinnon in the final seconds of the middle frame.

“That was obviously a huge save,” Brunette said. “It was kind of an unlucky bounce off the wall and arguably one of the best players in the League, if not the best, and he made a great save. [MacKinnon] got him upstairs the first time, and I don't think Juice was going to let that go twice.”

“He's just making some huge saves and looking really confident in there,” Sissons said. “It’s just like we're used to seeing him, but he makes big saves. The breakaway save on MacKinnon there to keep us in the game and keep the lead, things like that make a huge difference down the stretch.”

With his 25-save performance on Saturday, Saros has now recorded a 1.34 goals-against average and a .954 save percentage during the six-game span.

Josi Stays Hot

With an assist on O’Reilly’s power-play goal, Roman Josi extended his point streak to five games (4g-5a).

Nashville’s captain now has 30 points (7g-23a) in his last 22 outings.

UP NEXT

The Predators five-game homestand continues on Tuesday against the Montréal Canadiens. Click here to get tickets.

Puck drop at Bridgestone Arena is at 7 p.m. CT with the game set to broadcast on Bally Sports South, 102.5 The Game and El Jefe Radio.

NOTES 

• With assists on Glass’ first and third goals, McDonagh matched a season-high three-game point streak (1g-3a) and earned his sixth multi-point performance of the season.
• With a goal and an assist, Tommy Novak recorded his sixth multi-point performance of the season; the forward now has 13 points (5g-8a) in his last 13 outings. 
• Tyson Barrie and Denis Gurianov were scratched and did not skate in Saturday’s game.