Preds Fall to Kraken on Opening Night in Nashville

A late push wasn't enough as the Nashville Predators fell to the Seattle Kraken by a 4-3 final on Opening Night at Bridgestone Arena. The contest brought about the first-ever meeting between the two clubs as Seattle collected their first win in franchise history.

Eeli Tolvanen opened the scoring and got Nashville's first of the season just over three minutes into the contest when he snapped a shot past Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer from an offensive-zone faceoff. However, Seattle had a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes courtesy of two power-play goals late in the first, one from Jared McCann and the other from Brandon Tanev.
The Predators tied the game early in the second with a power-play tally of their own as Roman Josi blasted a shot from the high slot on a 5-on-3 advantage. Seattle took the lead once more at 9:54 of the second with a goal from Alex Wennberg, and that lead continued to hold.

The Preds played their best period of the night in the third as they tested Grubauer with 13 shots, but Seattle scored an empty-netter to take a two-goal lead late in regulation. Mikael Granlund brought the Predators back to within one with just 39 seconds to play, but that was as close as Nashville came to salvaging a point.

Predators goaltender Juuse Saros made 22 saves on the night, while Granlund factored in on all three Nashville goals (1g-2a) in the loss. Filip Forsberg also recorded two assists but saw his Opening Night goal streak come to an end after four-consecutive seasons.

Opening Night Storyline:

There were some things to like in Nashville's opener on Thursday night, but the Preds also know anything less than a complete effort won't usually yield the desired results.
That was the sentiment from the home team following the 4-3 loss to Seattle with a mix of good and bad to take away from outing No. 1 of 82.
"The first period, we didn't get off to the start that we wanted," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said. "I thought in the second period, there were more pockets of how we wanted to be able to play, and then I really liked the third period where we were able to get to our game. So, I think there's some things we can take out of the first, and the penalties don't help where you wind up having to kill so much right off the bat and get out of the rhythm. I thought competitively we got better as the game had gone on, and as I said, I thought the second period there were a few pockets [of play] where we wanted to get to, and then I thought in the third period we did a good job, but [it] wasn't enough."
Predators players mentioned a tough go at times in the offensive zone, and although they were able to put together some chances at the Seattle net as the game went on, the Preds know there is more to give, too.
"We didn't really have enough O-zone time," Josi said. "We didn't get it in as much as we would have liked to, and I just think once we were in there, we were in for a short time and they got back out. In the third, we obviously got some more pressure and [played] more the way we wanted to play, but I think the first two periods we couldn't get enough in on the O-zone and played too much defense."
Predators forward Philip Tomasino made his NHL debut on Thursday night and finished with one shot on goal in 10:34 of ice time. The 20-year-old improved as the contest went on, but as is the case for any young player, there will be plenty of lessons to learn as well.
"There were parts where Phil looked good, and kind of like our team a little bit later in the third period you saw… he had a couple of opportunities to be able to put the puck to the net," Hynes said. "I thought the first period, there was a lot going on. I mean, they were on us and there wasn't a lot of time in space. There wasn't a lot of ice that was easy to get, and I think those are the situations for any young guy, or the team in general, when the regular season starts. Those are some areas where we can clean up and be a little bit better."
That next opportunity will come Saturday night when the Preds host the Carolina Hurricanes in a postseason rematch, and Nashville's third-period effort certainly leaves something to build on.
"I think we just have to stick to our game," Tolvanen said. "Today, we only played probably 30 minutes of good hockey, and that's not going to work in this League. It's a tough League, and every team is really good, so I think we've just got to play to our identity for all 60 minutes."

Highlight of the Night:

They Said It:

Roman Josi on playing in front of a sold-out Bridgestone Arena for the first time since March of 2020: "It was awesome. It's so much fun. Just the entrance coming into a full building, the game, and when you score a goal, the crowd gets into it. We've all missed that, and it was pretty awesome."

Notes:

Preds forward Mikael Granlund and defenseman Mattias Ekholm were announced as alternate captains as the roster was introduced on Opening Night, with Roman Josi wearing the 'C' as usual.
Forward Rocco Grimaldi, as well as defensemen Matt Benning and Mark Borowiecki, were scratched on Thursday night.
Nashville's four-game homestand continues on Saturday night when they host the Carolina Hurricanes for the first regular-season meeting between the two since they met in the first round of last spring's Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Preds will then welcome Los Angeles on Tuesday and the New York Rangers next Thursday.