Josi Nets OT Winner as Preds Top Maple Leafs, 3-2

Roman Josi scored his first goal of the season in overtime to lift the Nashville Predators to a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena.

Six different players found the scoresheet for Nashville, led by two points apiece from Josi (1g-1a), Ryan O’Reilly (2g), Luke Evangelista (2a) and Filip Forsberg (2a). Juuse Saros made 34 saves in goal for the Predators, who finished their three-game homestand with a 2-1-0 record and moved to 4-4-0 on the season. 

The Maple Leafs outshot the Predators 12-6 in the first period, but Saros stood tall in goal, making several big saves to keep Nashville in the game.

The two teams traded power-play goals late in the first period, with the Leafs striking first on a William Nylander snipe from the left face-off circle that extended his season-opening point streak to eight games.

O’Reilly evened the score against his former team less than two minutes later, jamming the puck in front of the net and tallying a power-play goal of his own at 15:05.

The game was knotted at one goal apiece until 12:46 of the second period, when Mark Giordano beat Saros for his first goal of the season. O’Reilly once again had a quick answer on the man advantage, tipping in a Forsberg shot at 15:08 to tie the score at 2-2.

After a scoreless third period that saw two big penalty kills by the Predators, the game went to overtime. Just over two minutes into the extra frame, ​​Josi took a drop pass from Evangelista just inside the blue line and beat Toronto netminder Ilya Samsonov on the blocker side with a wrist shot from the high slot for the 3-2 final.

PREDS STANDOUTS

RO’R Owns TOR: O’Reilly struck first for the Preds against his former club. He played the final 13 games of the 2022-23 regular season with the Maple Leafs, posting four goals and 11 points. He added nine points (3g-6a) in 11 postseason games with Toronto.

With two power-play goals against Toronto, O’Reilly now has six points (4g-2a) in his first eight games with the Predators. His three power-play tallies this season are tied with Tommy Novak for the team high. He is just one game away from 1,000 in his NHL career, and he is expected to reach the milestone on Tuesday in Vancouver.

FILthy Forsberg: Forsberg assisted on both of O’Reilly’s power-play tallies and now leads the Preds with seven points (1g-6a) through eight games; his six assists are also a team high.

Captain Calls Game: Josi’s OT winner was his first goal of the season and the 30th game-winning goal of his NHL career.

THEY SAID IT

Josi on the win:

“It felt like a really intense game. It felt like it was really fast. Obviously they’ve got some firepower up front, some really good players… Finding a way to get two points is big for our group and definitely helps us grow.”

Josi on the team finding success on the power play:

“Obviously, a lot of new guys are playing together. Some guys are playing different positions, too. Sometimes it just takes some time and you can't get too frustrated. I felt like today we did a good job of just making some low plays. It always depends on the PK too and the way they're playing. But obviously today we had some low looks and good tips. So just being more in sync over the games has been good and hopefully we can keep it up.”

O’Reilly on getting a win after Tuesday’s loss to Vancouver:

“Obviously our last game was really disappointing. We got outplayed for the most part, so we wanted a good response, especially against that team – they’ve got so much firepower… We’ve got to take things from that game and build it up to the next one. But it’s definitely a big win.”

O’Reilly on scoring twice on the power play:

“It feels good, for sure… The power play is so important. In our first week of the season, we did some great five-on-five things but not on the power play, so it was it was nice to get that. If we are going to have success, we’ve got to step up on the power play so it definitely gives me some confidence.”

Head Coach Andrew Brunette on his assessment of the game:

“We were a little slow in the first period but I thought after that, we got to our game a little bit… Execution wasn't great early, and I thought we played a really solid game after that. I feel like we… had the puck a lot, created some motions, moving in front of their goalie and looked like more of the team that I was hoping for. So special teams were really key in the second and third period. That’s a really good hockey team over there, and we found a way to get the win.”

Brunette on the power play:

“I think the power play always is a little bit of a feel thing. I thought we were a little bit stubborn in the first seven games. We had a little bit of success but weren't getting pucks into the areas that you need to score; we were further and further away from them. But tonight, with the O’Reilly goal, case in point that we're getting the pucks in those areas where you’re going to score. And once you get one, I think you do a little bit better job on it and you get in a little bit more of a groove. You could tell they were having fun, and when we're having fun and moving the puck, they’ve got a lot of skill and that skill takes over.”

Brunette on the importance of the penalty kill:

“The penalty kill was crucial down the stretch. That's the second best power play in the league but it could be the first with the skill they have. And we did a good job just hanging in there. We knew they were coming, they were going to have pressure, they were going to play in our end, and we just kind of stayed with the program and we're able to get some big blocks, some big stick battles and some big saves.”

UP NEXT

The Predators will kick off a five-game road trip on Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks. The puck drops at 9 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on Bally Sports South, 102.5 The Game and El Jefe Radio.