Filip Forsberg tallied twice and Juuse Saros made 26 saves as the Nashville Predators shut out the Utah Hockey Club by a 4-0 final on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena. Jonathan Marchessault and Gustav Nyquist also scored to put an end to Nashville’s three-game skid, and the win gives the Preds a boost of confidence with a satisfying effort.
“I thought that was a pretty complete hockey game from our club,” Forsberg said. “We came out really good in the first, got two on the power play. But other than that, I thought it was a solid defensive performance. And obviously Juice made some great saves when we needed him.”
“I thought attention to detail was as good as it's been all season,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “It was fun to play the lead a little bit. We've chased so many games, so I thought we really bought into certain things to play a direct game and predictable game. It wasn't perfect at different times, but I think everybody pulled the rope a little.”
Forsberg needed less than three minutes into the contest to snipe one past Connor Ingram on the power play to give Nashville a 1-0 lead, and Marchessault tipped in a Roman Josi shot on another man advantage to put the Preds up by two after 20 minutes.
“Sometimes it's about getting chances, and I feel tonight I had a couple of chances,” Marchessault said. “So, that's a positive… I think at the end of day, I just want scoring chances, and that means I’m doing something good and to create chances for my teammates, as well. I think tonight was a more desperate group that we had, and it showed. I thought we dominated the game pretty well.”
In the second stanza, Forsberg reaffirmed why he’s one of the League’s most skilled players when he deked through the Utah defense and picked a corner for his second of the night, one of his most impressive efforts of the season.
“That's just why he's so special,” Marchessault said of Forsberg. “You don't realize it until you’re on the same team, but he's probably one of the best power forwards out there. He's so strong on the puck, and his shot is one of the best I've seen in my life, for sure. He's an unbelievable player, and he's our top dog at the forward position.”
Saros continued to stand tall throughout the night, and Nyquist sealed the victory with an empty-netter before the final horn sounded to give Nashville one of the more gratifying wins of the season.
“I think the energy, the urgency was there, and that's what we needed, and that's what we need going forward,” Saros said. “Overall, a good game from us.”
Now, the Predators will turn their focus to a five-game road trip that begins Monday night in Colorado, and one more triumph at home sends the group off with something to build on.
“It was huge,” Forsberg said of the win. “You know what's coming with the schedule. I think it was more important to bounce back after that Florida game [on Thursday]. That was not our team. I think this was definitely more of that. It's a good step in the right direction, but the challenge now is obviously to keep taking steps forward and not taking any steps back.”
Notes:
Preds forward Colton Sissons returned to the lineup on Saturday after missing one game with an upper-body injury. Tommy Novak (upper-body, day-to-day) did not play against Utah. Forward Mark Jankowski and defenseman Dante Fabbro were scratched.
Roman Josi collected an assist on both of the Predators’ first two goals. It marked his 168th multi-point game, which are the fourth most among active blueliners behind Erik Karlsson (201), Brent Burns (192) and Victor Hedman (170).
The Predators will now head west for a five-game road trip that begins on Monday night in Colorado against the Avalanche. Nashville will then visit Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Seattle over the next two weeks.
