Preds Fall 7-5 in 'Frustrating' Back-and-Forth Affair with Coyotes

The Nashville Predators scored five goals, tying their season high in a single game, but struggled to gain momentum and ultimately fell 7-5 to the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena.

Juuse Saros made 18 saves on 24 shots for the Preds, who moved to 5-9-0 on the season and 3-3-0 at home.

Kiefer Sherwood was the first to light the lamp for the Predators just over five minutes into the first period. Tommy Novak passed the puck from behind the net to Luke Evangelista, who set up the play for Sherwood on the breakaway to give Nashville an early 1-0 lead.

Filip Forsberg widened the Predators lead less than two minutes later, getting a piece of Gustav Nyquist’s backhand shot from the slot to put Nashville on top, 2-0.

The Coyotes potted their first goal of the game midway through the first, when Michael Carcone got a shot off through traffic to trim the deficit to 2-1. Troy Stecher tied the score with his first goal of the season at 14:05, seconds after exiting the penalty box for interference.

Nashville took back the lead late in the first period when Forsberg executed a drop pass to Roman Josi, who fired a cross-ice pass to Dante Fabbro; Fabbro went top shelf for the go-ahead goal at 16:58.

Ryan O’Reilly padded the Predators lead with a power-play goal early in the first period, jamming in a loose puck in front of the net to put Nashville up 4-2 at 3:28.

The Coyotes answered with a power-play goal of their own at 7:19, when Clayton Keller finished off a dish from Logan Cooley to cut Nashville’s lead to 4-3. Alex Kerfoot netted the equalizer for Arizona at 12:28, swatting a loose puck over the goal line to tie the score at 4-4.

Carcone tallied his second goal of the night – a laser from the face-off circle – to give the Coyotes their first lead with less than a minute remaining in the middle frame. 

Trailing by one at the start of the third period, the Predators got one back when Forsberg redirected Nyquist’s shot from the high slot to tie the score at 4-4 with just over six minutes remaining in regulation.

The Coyotes retook the lead on the power play at 16:33 with a one-timer from Sean Durzi. Nick Bjugstad scored into the empty net at 18:33 for the 7-5 final. 

PREDS STANDOUTS

Mr. 1,000: O’Reilly played in his 1,000th career NHL game on Oct. 31 at Vancouver, and the Predators celebrated the milestone in a pregame ceremony ahead of Saturday’s game. The 32-year-old center, who made his NHL debut on Oct. 1, 2009, played his previous 999 career games with Colorado (427), St. Louis (327), Buffalo (224), Toronto (13) and Nashville (8). He became the second player from his 2009 NHL Draft class to skate in 1,000 career NHL games; Toronto’s John Tavares was the first. Throughout his decorated 15-season NHL career, O’Reilly has won the Stanley Cup (2019), Conn Smythe (2019), Selke Trophy (2019) and Lady Byng Trophy (2014).

O’Reilly scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season in the second period against Arizona and has eight points (6g-2a) in his last seven games; it was also his fifth goal on the man advantage, which is also a team high. O’Reilly now has 36 points (14g-22a) in 45 career games against the Coyotes.

Fil the Thrill: With three points on the night (2g-1a), Forsberg extended his team lead in points to 17 (6g-11a). He has five points in his last two games and back-to-back two-goal performances after scoring twice in Nashville’s 6-3 loss to Winnipeg on Thursday.

Helping Hands: Nyquist, Novak and Josi each dished out two assists against Arizona; Fabbro also recorded two points (1g-1a).

THEY SAID IT

Forsberg Nashville’s defensive lapses:

“I think we're giving up too many free chances, to be honest. They're a good team, but they really didn't earn anything they got, especially not in the first. I thought the second period they came out ready and we did not. We should have been up three or four goals after the first period the way we played, but it was a tight game, 3-2, and I think we were just giving up too many free chances. [Saros] was making some unbelievable saves… He’s the best goalie in the world, but he's not going to stop all of them if we keep playing like that.”

Forsberg on his assessment of the game:

“We're shooting ourselves in the foot. We were playing great in the first… and it was only a one-goal game but later those guys are going to hang around and they're going to be dangerous. Obviously, they’ve got a lot of skill on that side, but like I said, that game could have been put away in the first if we just didn't give them anything.”

Forsberg on the second period:

“I think we did a lot of good things in the first. I think we did a lot of good things in the third. But the second period was just terrible. It's not like it's just average; it's really bad. They came back in the game, they came back on the scoreboard and that turned out to be the determining factor.”

Fabbro on the team’s frustration following the loss:

“We thought we had a good first. They took it to us pretty good in the second. It’s a business of winning, and right now we're losing. It's not good right now. I think everyone in the locker room knows we need to tighten up a couple of things offensively.I know everyone wants to win in here, and it's just not coming around… We’ve got to stick to our game plan through 60, and right now we're not getting a complete 60 out of our team.

O’Reilly on the loss:

“We’re making big mistakes. That's all it is. We’re just finding ways to lose games. It's frustrating; it sucks… I myself tonight was terrible in the faceoff circles; I had opportunities there to make better plays at the right times and didn't. It stinks. We’re just digging ourselves a hole here, which pisses us all off.”

O’Reilly on Nashville losing three straight:

“It just drains the confidence out of us when we play a game, and then we follow up and then find a way to lose another game and then get a chance to respond to come back strong and then it snowballs, and you find a way to lose this game, too. It's frustrating. I wish I had the answers. I don't think anyone does, but it's just something that we’ve got to figure out quickly here.”

Head Coach Andrew Brunette on his assessment of the game:

“I thought tonight [our problem] was just mistakes. It was a bad change. It was a face-off goal. It was two penalty-killing goals. It's hard to win in this league when you’re giving up that many. I really liked the effort… But we let them back in the game and it was back and forth, and there are some things we can learn from. But it's been a recurring theme.”

UP NEXT

The Predators continue their five-game homestand on Tuesday, when they host the Anaheim Ducks at Bridgestone Arena. The puck drops at 7 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on Bally Sports South, 102.5 The Game and El Jefe Radio. Click here for tickets.