Both teams threw checks readily, and that added to the intensity. Roope Hintz had several scoring chances early, and that added to the intensity. Dallas handed Nashville eight minutes of power-play time in the second period, and that added to the intensity.
It was a good game. Juuse Saros stopped 27 shots for the Predators, while Jake Oettinger stopped 19 for the Stars. Both were tested, both responded on a night when goaltending seemed to be the theme.
The performance for the 23-year-old Oettinger was especially encouraging. He won an overtime game Wednesday in Dallas and was expected to fly into Nashville right after the game. However, the Stars were stuck on their team plane for about an hour because of weather and decided to fly on Thursday instead. Oettinger rolled with the punches and looked good doing so.
"Jake wants the ball. He wants to run with it," Bowness said. "You've got to love that about him. If you asked him to go to practice tomorrow for an hour, he'd be the first guy on the ice."
Oettinger said he likes testing himself and he felt Saros won the battle on Thursday. That said, he also said he enjoyed the competition.
"Saros, he's one of the best goalies in the league and a great way to measure where you're at," Oettinger said. "He's the reason Nashville is where they are right now. I want to be the backbone for this team like he is for them."