The Nashville Predators fell to the New Jersey Devils by a 5-0 final on Sunday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result sees the Preds collect a win and a loss in their back-to-back set as they returned from the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off break.
Devils goaltender Nico Daws pitched a 29-save shutout, and the Preds had their chances, but New Jersey took advantage of the opportunities Nashville gave them to end up on the right side of the scoresheet.
“Actually, I thought we did a lot of good things tonight…but the disappointing thing was a little bit of the commitment to giving up free offense,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “I thought that second goal was a real kicker. The second period, we kind of got into our game. We had the puck, we had lots of good looks, [but we] give up that one, and then we get a little bit impatient in our game, gave up a couple breakaways, and some of uncharacteristic things that we didn't do Saturday, we did a little bit tonight and it got away from us.”
“Just giving way too much [to the Devils],” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “I don't know how many breakaways they had - a couple for sure. We knew [it would be] kind of a similar game as yesterday - a lot of speed on the other side, they want to play a rush game, and just gave them way too much tonight.”
The Devils had a 1-0 lead after the first period courtesy of a goal from Ondrej Palat, and after Dougie Hamilton rocketed a shot past Justus Annunen in the second stanza, Seamus Casey gave New Jersey a 3-0 advantage through 40 minutes of play.
The visitors added two more in the final frame, and they even won a challenge for offside after Fedor Svechkov appeared to get the Predators on the board late in regulation. Instead, Nashville will now look for a better result on Tuesday as the Panthers come to town as the second half of the season continues.
“It’s been one of the toughest years I've been a part of,” Preds Alternate Captain Ryan O’Reilly said. “It comes with so much expectation, and just not living up to it. It hasn't been fun. But, we still have a lot of hockey left. We have to try to build something here, and we're not going to quit. It’s going to be on us leaders. We have to step up and find a way to generate something.”
Notes:
Nashville kept the same lineup as they did in Saturday’s win, with Kieffer Bellows and Jake Livingstone servings as healthy scratches.
The Predators will continue their homestand on Tuesday when the Florida Panthers come to town for 90s Night at Bridgestone Arena.
