Fedor Svechkov scored his first NHL goal, but the Nashville Predators fell to the Minnesota Wild by a 3-2 final in overtime on Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center. The result gives the Preds their third-consecutive 3-2 defeat in the extra session, a fact that left them wanting more once again.
“It’s another disappointing game,” Preds alternate captain Ryan O’Reilly said. “We competed tonight, stuck with it. But you know, the last few games, we only scored two goals and it’s tough because [goaltender Juuse Saros] is playing outstanding, giving us a chance… We can't [get over] that hump, that next goal is huge for us. It's frustrating, we get to OT and hopefully squeak it out there, and we just don't right now, and it's just extremely frustrating.”
Minnesota got the game’s first goal as Declan Chisholm’s point shot found its way through traffic and past Saros, but less than a minute later, Svechkov answered right back as he took a cross-ice feed from Luke Evangelista and one-timed his first NHL goal from the right circle and into the twine to get the Preds on the board
“I was so excited,” Svechkov said of scoring his first goal. “[Because] for a couple games, I had a couple scoring chances, and I feel like I can score and do more on this, and I have to show more. I hope it's going to come, more goals and more points.”
“As a coach or as a player, there's nothing better than seeing a guy get his first NHL goal,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “It's pretty special and something you never forget. So it was great to see him get a goal. I think he's played really well. He's growing as a player. He's going to be a really good player in this League. And he scored a big goal for us.”
That 1-1 score became Nashville’s first lead of the night in the second stanza as Steven Stamkos found O’Reilly in tight for a masterful redirect on the power play for a 2-1 Predators advantage. Minnesota evened the score with a power-play goal of their own from Kirill Kaprizov on a similar play in front before the period was out.
Both teams continued to trade chances in the final frame, but exactly one minute into OT, Jared Spurgeon beat Saros to finish a 2-on-1 and give Minnesota the extra point.
“It didn't happen again tonight,” Brunette said. “But I think a lot to feel good about the last [four or five games] that looked a little bit more like us. And I like the way we transitioned. I liked the way that we moved the puck. I thought we looked fast. We played fast, just not getting rewarded for it right now. The game is challenging us right now, and they're hoping we'll go away, but we keep coming back.”
From here, the Predators will return to Nashville before jetting off to Toronto early next week to begin a swing through eastern Canada, and they’ll look to build on the good from the recent stretch moving forward.
“Obviously there's some things with our effort that we have to be consistent with,” O’Reilly said. “But I know for myself, just as quick, it’s a mental reset, usually when you're ready for this swing. And you know, it's a great opportunity to go on this Ontario swing and get some points and kind of rejuvenate ourselves. The opportunity is there. We have to kind of reset, refocus, and come out, guns blazing in Toronto.”
Notes:
Prior to Saturday’s game, the Predators acquired goaltender Justus Annunen and a 2025 sixth-round pick in exchange for netminder Scott Wedgewood. Annunen arrived in time for puck drop and wore jersey No. 29 while backing up Saros on the night.
Brunette addressed the trade prior to puck drop on Saturday.
"We're getting a goaltender that's quite a bit younger than [Wedgewood],” Nashville’s bench boss said of acquiring the 24-year-old Finn. “I mean, [Wedgewood] was a really good veteran, really good for us, was a good personality, we'll probably miss that. But we're getting a goalie that's younger...our goalie department really feels excited to have [Annunen] in here and have a chance to be a really good goalie - and not that he's not one now, but they figure he can grow and develop into a real valuable piece for us."
Per NHLPR, Roman Josi became the first player in Predators history to record a point streak of at least five games 20 different times. The only active defensemen with as many five-plus game point streaks are Brent Burns (24) and Erik Karlsson (22).
Josi has recorded 108 career multi-assist games – the second most among all defenseman since making his NHL debut in 2011-12 and behind only Erik Karlsson (123).
Josi passed Sergei Gonchar (107) and tied Victor Hedman (108) for the fifth most multi-assist games by a defenseman born outside of North America. The only others with more are Nicklas Lidstrom (176), Erik Karlsson (132), Borje Salming (123) and Sergei Zubov (118).
The Predators will have a day off Sunday before heading to Toronto to begin a stretch of three games in four nights through eastern Canada.
