Preds Snap Losing Streak, Close Out 2018 with Win for the Moms

They may not show up on the scoresheet, but the Predators' guests of honor deserve a lot of recognition for Nashville's 6-3 victory in Washington.
Two dozen of the Preds' moms accompanied the team to the Nation's Capital and saw their sons score five unanswered goals to erase a 3-1 deficit, bust their six-game losing streak and record a significant win to end 2018. The victory also snapped Nashville's 10-game road winless streak.
"Growing up, you fall and you get a boo-boo, who do you run to? Mom," Preds forward Rocco Grimaldi said. "We're on a six-game losing streak, we're kind of hurting and banged up, who do we need to come running to? Mom. It was a great win by our team, especially going down 3-1. We could've hung our heads and thought it's one of those game again, we can't get out of this slump, but the boys stuck together, every line chipped in and we have a huge win against the defending Stanley Cup Champs."

Washington took a 2-0 lead halfway through the opening period, but less than 30 seconds later, it was Grimaldi who gave the Preds their first strike of the day as he redirected Zac Rinaldo's feed past Braden Holtby to get the Preds on the board.

The Capitals went back up by two at 8:22 of the second period, but again the Preds struck back, this time less than two minutes later on a tap-in goal courtesy of Miikka Salomaki.
Roughly two minutes later, Ryan Johansen poked a puck through the five hole of Holtby to tie the game at three, and Frederick Gaudreau gave Nashville their first lead of the afternoon less than four minutes after that.

"It was a big play by Rinaldo to Grimaldi there, that was a huge goal," Johansen said. "They had all the momentum at that time, their building was pumped up, and so to get that goal, I thought was huge. That gave us some life and we just kept pounding the legs, shift after shift, everyone played their role very well and competed at both ends of the rink. We did all the little things well, and the result was a big win."
Just as they did on Saturday night, the Preds carried a lead into the final frame, but this time, they added to their advantage. Ryan Ellis converted off an odd-man rush at 10:35 of the third and Viktor Arvidsson tallied his first goal since returning from injury to stretch the visitors' lead to 6-3 in the final minutes.

Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette admitted his club had a number of "mental lapses" on the afternoon, but no matter, because goaltender Pekka Rinne was there to bail them out on a number of occasions to earn his 15th win of the season.
A complete team victory, and perhaps then some if you count the assist to the mothers, Nashville put together all the pieces for much-needed triumph to finally get two points back on their side of the ledger.
"We competed really well," Laviolette said. "We played a good game offensively, we were opportunistic and did what we needed to do. Coming from behind a couple times down by two goals is also a good thing, on the road is a good thing, certainly against a good team, so lots of positives to pull from today."

Do It for The Moms:
Rocco Grimaldi's mother, Susie, shed a tear after her son scored.
Paivi Salomaki gave a prolonged hug to Helena Rinne after Miikka put one in the net. Ryan Johansen's mother, Roz, high-fived Debbie Sissons. Frederick Gaudreau's mom, France, jumped for joy.
Mary Ellis? She was just plain thrilled. So was Asa Arvidsson.
Indeed, this one meant a little more to the Preds with the team's first-ever Mothers Trip in full effect.
And their boys delivered.
"You could tell how much it meant to them," Johansen said. "After the game was over, we looked up there and they were hootin' and hollerin' pretty good. It's a fun experience for them and we're happy we could get the win for them to make it even more special."

In the case of the Grimaldis, his mother's emotion was a surprise to Rocco. But as Mrs. Grimaldi, a former police officer, said after the game, anyone who has a child would understand.
And for Rocco, having his mom along makes the win that much more satisfying.
"She's a tough, strong woman, so it means a lot for her to show the emotion," Grimaldi said. "I've said it all week, but my parents have sacrificed everything for me, basically retired from their jobs early as police officers to hopefully let me live my dream one day. They took a chance on a 12-year-old kid to move to Michigan just for hockey, so they've done everything for me. It was a nice little reward to score, but I'm sure she likes the win a lot more than me scoring."

Notes:
Kyle Turris (day-to-day) missed his second consecutive game with a lower-body injury.
Prior to Monday's game, the Preds recalled forward Nicholas Baptiste from Milwaukee. Baptiste did not dress against the Capitals.
After jetting back to Nashville before the clock strikes midnight, the Preds will be right back at it on New Year's Day as they host the Philadelphia Flyers at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday night.