Preds Fall 3-1 to Philadelphia

The first Saturday Night in Smashville of the 2022-23 season had the potential to be a joyous occasion, as the Predators sought their 900th win in franchise history and General Manager/President of Hockey Operations David Poile became the first GM in NHL history to reach 3,000 regular season games. However, the mood at Bridgestone Arena was heavy as the Preds lost defenseman Mark Borowiecki to injury and fell 3-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers for their fifth consecutive loss.

Saturday's game saw some changes to the Predators customary forward line combinations. Head Coach John Hynes broke up the "Herd" line for the first time this season, moving Yakov Trenin up to the second line with Ryan Johansen and Nino Niederreiter. Cole Smith took Trenin's place on the third line with Colton Sissons and Tanner Jeannot, and Eeli Tolvanen slotted in on the fourth line alongside Cody Glass and Michael McCarron.
"I really liked Johansen's line," Hynes said. "I thought with Trenin and Niederreiter, it was a good fit. We got to two big, strong puck-hunting guys. I thought they had some good shifts on the forecheck, in the offensive zone, a hard line to contain. I thought Smith looks like a good fit in his style of game with Sissons and Jeannot... I thought that those guys, for the most part, did a good job and look like they had some good chemistry and worked well together as two threesomes."
Carter Hart put on a dominant performance in net for the Flyers, stopping 31 of 32 shots. Still, Nashville's line shakeup seemed to provide a spark to a team looking to get back to its identity on offense.
"I think we played to our identity," Roman Josi said. "Our forecheck was a lot better tonight. We were more aggressive, we played more physical, and I think it shows in the game. I thought we got a lot of zone time tonight. A lot of good shifts... We had a lot of good looks and they didn't go in, but you just have to focus on the process. You can't get too caught up with the score. I thought that we did a pretty good job tonight. And I think it was a good step in the right direction."
Kevin Hayes scored his first goal of the season on Philadelphia's first shot of the game to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead just over three minutes into the first period. It was the first time the Flyers scored first in a game this season.
Zack MacEwen also scored his first of the season for the Flyers on a wrist shot with 1:24 remaining in the first period. The Predators trailed 2-0 after 20 minutes, despite outshooting the Flyers 12-6 through the first frame.
Joel Farabee found the back of the net for the first time this season to extend the Flyers' lead to 3-0 roughly midway through the third period. Hayes and Ivan Provorov were awarded assists on the goal - their seventh and fifth of the season, respectively.
Matt Duchene was able to spoil the shutout with a power-play goal at 18:42 of the third period, assisted by Filip Forsberg and Mikael Granlund.
"They were very opportunistic," Duchene said of the Flyers. "They scored on their chances. They didn't have anything going and all of a sudden, boom, it was in the back of the net. So they were opportunistic and we were the opposite and that was pretty much the game. We controlled the game pretty much from start to finish."
At 13:39 of a scoreless second period for both teams, Bridgestone Arena fell silent as Borowiecki was stretchered off the ice after lying motionless for several minutes following a collision with the boards behind the Flyers net. When Borowiecki left Bridgestone Arena, he was conscious and had movement in all of his extremities. He has been transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for further testing and observation, and the team will share more details on his condition as they become available.
"It's hard to see a brother go down like that," Duchene said. "He's a guy that wears his heart on his sleeve. He's a character guy for us and everyone loves him. He's a great teammate, he always works hard and unfortunately, it was a tough play for him there."
The Predators will be back in action Thursday when they host the St. Louis Blues at Bridgestone Arena.
"Our focus is on continuing to get better," Hynes said. "And I think that you have to take the situations for what they are. So we haven't won one here in five games, and I think there's different reasons for that. And we have an opportunity now, probably at a good time, where it's an opportunity to reset and get away from it for a day and come back and have some good practices and refocus. And that's what our focus has to be, is what we can control, and what we can control is what's going on moving forward."