Predators Prevail in 3-2 Shootout Win Over Devils

Ryan O’Reilly scored in the shootout while Juuse Saros shut the door on all three Devils attempts to seal a come-from-behind, 3-2 victory over New Jersey on Sunday at Prudential Center.

The result dropped Nashville’s clinching magic number to one and split their weekend back-to-back set.

“It was a good effort,” O’Reilly said. “It wasn’t a great start, but we kept building. We went out in the third and had a miscommunication, which happens. But at the TV timeout we had a little bit of a reset and kind of turned the ice in the third there. And I thought we responded well.”

“It was a grind,” Predators Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “These are hard games and it was hard for both teams. I thought we did a lot of really good things and didn't get rewarded for some of our opportunities, but it was a grind and I’m proud of the group and the resiliency there. We had a little bit of a bad bounce on the second goal and I thought we rallied, we played a little flat for a few minutes and then we rallied, and I thought we put ourselves in a pretty good position to make a play and Vange made an unbelievable play.”

With St. Louis also prevailing in the shootout on Sunday, Nashville’s next clinching opportunity will come Tuesday evening, as the Predators host the Winnipeg Jets.

QUICK HITS

Pretty Boy One-Hundo

In his 100th NHL game, Luke Evangelista came up big for the Predators, scoring the equalizer with 7:15 remaining in regulation to force overtime against New Jersey.

Evangelista’s goal was his 16th goal of the season and gave the rookie forward the 50th point (23g-27a) of his career.

“I was saying the other day I felt like my first game was just a few months ago,” Evangelista said. “I could tell you exactly what I did on the day of my debut and I can't believe 100 is already here. I'm blessed to be playing 100 games, especially in the NHL for Nashville. It's been a great ride so far.”

“I love his poise,” Brunette said. “He's got a little moxie to his game and a lot of patience with the puck. He’s as good as anybody, very creative and he's been skating better as the year’s gone on. His pace has improved, because he's competitive, he's a big game player and he showed it tonight.”

600 for Fil

Recording two assists on Sunday, Filip Forsberg reached 600 career points (282g-318a) and joined his teammate Roman Josi as the second player in franchise history to reach the milestone.

The forward now has 36 points (18g-18a) in his last 24 outings.

The Captain

Josi’s first-period goal was his 21st of the season and the second in his last three games.

Nashville’s captain now has 29 points (10g-19a) in his last 24 outings. Against New Jersey, Josi has 19 points (6g-13a) in his last 15 games and 21 points (6g-15a) in 20 career games.

UP NEXT

The Predators return home for a Central Division showdown against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday. Click here to get tickets.

Puck drop 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

• Sunday was Nashville’s first shootout since Dec. 30 vs. WSH; the Predators are now 3-0 in shootouts in 2023-24.
• Nashville stretched their road win streak against New Jersey to eight games. The Predators have not lost a game at Prudential Center since March 3, 2015.
• Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Tyson Barrie, Dante Fabbro and Cody Glass were scratched and did not skate in Sunday’s game.