Ryan Johansen’s shot was an inch away from sending his club to overtime for at least a point.
Instead, his bid found iron with one second left in regulation and the Nashville Predators fell to the Philadelphia Flyers by a 2-1 final on Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center. The result is Nashville third consecutive defeat and stretches their road record to 0-7-2 in their last nine outings.
With five regulars out of the lineup – including Mattias Ekholm and Colton Sissons – the Predators played what they called a competitive game, but they hit the post twice on a night where rookie goaltender Carter Hart picked up his second win in as many starts to frustrate the visitors once more.
“The guys were competitive tonight,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “It’s difficult every time you lose a game. You’re supposed to be winning hockey games. There’s definitely things we can do better, so we’ll work at that.”
“We had some good looks, the young kid in net made some good saves,”Johansen said. “We competed really hard, it was just a good hockey game, a good, close game. We just couldn’t find a way.”
The Flyers had a 1-0 lead after one period courtesy of Jakub Voracek. Nick Bonino got the Preds on the board at 4:04 of the second stanza when he deposited a loose puck into a gaping cage to even the score at one all, but Claude Giroux capitalized on a 2-on-1 to put the Flyers back up after 40 minutes.
In the third, Nashville put 13 shots at the Philadelphia net, but they were unable to convert, and after a final flurry saw Johansen ring one final chance off the pipe, all six Preds on the ice doubled over, exhausted, left to think about what might have been.
“We could’ve done a better job of getting to the net and creating some chances, but in saying that, they did a good job of defending,” Johansen said. “When they needed saves, their goalie made some saves. It was one of those back-and-forth, tight hockey games, where both teams played well, and they came out on top and we didn’t.”
The road trip will conclude Saturday afternoon in Boston, one more chance for the Predators to end their streak before the much-needed Christmas break arrives.
“We’ve been struggling on the road as of late, but we know we can be successful,” Johansen said. “You just look at the start of our team on the road we were unbelievable, so hopefully we can get some bodies back here soon and get back to being consistently successful on the road. We just have to make sure we stick with it. We’ve got a smart, great hockey team here, and we’ll get back on track.”
Notes:
Defenseman Mattias Ekholm missed Thursday’s game due to illness, and forward Colton Sissons was out with a lower-body injury.
Prior to Thursday’s game, the Preds recalled forward Tyler Gaudet from the Milwaukee Admirals. Gaudet did not play against the Flyers.
The Predators also loaned forward Eeli Tolvanen to Finland’s National Junior Team in order for him to participate in the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship, beginning on Dec. 26.
Nashville’s four-game trip concludes on Saturday afternoon (at 12 p.m. CT) in Boston before the Christmas break arrives Dec. 23-26.
Pete Weber’s Postgame Report
