Filip Forsberg scored the lone Nashville goal as the Predators fell to the Edmonton Oilers by a 5-1 final on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result brings an end to Nashville’s four-game point streak (3-0-1) and sees them finish the first month of the season with a 3-6-1 record.
Nashville emphasized getting off to a better start on Thursday, but on the game’s first shift, the Oilers found the back of the net en route to an overall frustrating night for the home club.
“First shift,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said when asked where the game got away from Nashville. “We weren’t ready to play. [It’s like] pounding a square peg in a round hole here, saying they're a desperate team, and we have to match it. And [we] came out and didn't match right from the start, and we chased the game again.”
“Not good enough,” Preds defenseman Brady Skjei said of his team’s effort. “Obviously, getting down right away and then just the first period was not how we needed to play. It was too slow, and then had a glimpse of it in the second and then third period, but them getting one early was kind of the backbreaker a little bit. So, definitely not a good game by us.”
Former Preds forward Viktor Arvidsson was the one who beat Juuse Saros to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead just 37 seconds into the contest, but the Predators converted on a power play a short time later as Forbserg snapped an Oilers turnover past Calvin Pickard.
However, Corey Perry put Edmonton back on top midway through the opening frame, and then Leon Drasaitl added a third Oilers goal in the second stanza. Draisaitl’s second of the night came less than two minutes into the third period before Edmonton scored once more before the game was done.
With the first month of the season complete and the Preds at the 10-game mark, Nashville says concern is rising as November arrives.
“We're a team that cares a lot - we want to win, we want to play hard, and I think…we're disconnected right now,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “We're not playing as a team, we're not playing as a five-man unit and it just makes the game so much harder. You don't break out, you don't get any odd-man rushes, the forecheck’s not working, so everything just gets out of place. We have to find a way to correct that.”
The Predators will look to do just that before the Colorado Avalanche come to town on Saturday, and Nashville knows they simply have to be better in all areas.
“Well, I don't think you have to have [all the] answers [10 games into the season], but I think you have to have desperation and determination, and I can't say that we've had that,” Brunette said. “I think we think it'll be okay, and we're fine, and it's not a big deal, and we're good and all that kind of stuff. I don't think we've been determined enough that we can give chemistry a chance right now.”
Notes:
Preds forward Mark Jankowski missed Thursday’s game and is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Juuso Parssinen took Jankowski’s spot up front, and defenseman Marc Del Gaizo also reentered the Nashville lineup on Thursday.
In addition to Jankowski, forward Philip Tomasino and defenseman Dante Fabbro were scratched for Nashville.
The Predators continue their three-game homestand on Saturday night when they welcome the Colorado Avalanche to Bridgestone Arena before the Los Angeles Kings visit on Monday.
