Calle Jarnkrok of the Nashville Predators[Photo courtesy of NHL.com]
A record crowd of 17,722 at Bridgestone Arena saw the Predators put 39 shots on Stars netminder Anton Khudobin, but they were only able to beat him once, and with less than five minutes to play in regulation, the Stars went ahead for good.
On a night where the Predators honored an all-time fan-favorite in Jordin Tootoo, who was known for his feisty play, Saturday’s skirmish also had a bit of snarl to it, which made it that much more frustrating to come out on the wrong end of such a hotly contested meeting.
“We played great, and we were all over them, especially the first half of the game,” Preds goaltender Pekka Rinne said. “Khudobin played really well, and it’s disappointing when you play a game like that and end up losing the game.”
“They’ve been playing well lately; playing fast and hard,” Preds forward Ryan Hartman said. “We knew it was going to be a battle coming into tonight, but they ended up getting two points out of it.”
It was Calle
who gave the Preds a 1-0 lead midway through the opening period, but Tyler Seguin evened the score less than two minutes after that – a tally that held through the first 40 minutes of the contest.
The Predators acknowledged a slow start to the third after a solid effort through the first two frames, but they caught back up to the Stars and the game was rather even the rest of the night, but a defensive breakdown led to Comeau being all alone in front to beat Rinne late.
“It was a fast game; it was a tight game for two periods,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “When they scored the second goal, I didn’t feel like we were in danger like I did in the first four minutes of the third period. It was a breakdown that ended up in the back of the net, and that was the difference.”
Dallas added another before the night was out to see the Predators drop a Central Division matchup that meant a little more than most.
“That’s why you feel disappointed; you feel crushed after,” Rinne said. “It’s Saturday night in Nashville and it’s a division game and we only have 28 games left. It goes by quick, and I’m not worried about our game, but obviously it feels disappointing to lose again.”
Notes:
Defenseman Yannick Weber was Nashville’s lone scratch on Saturday night.
Nashville’s three-game homestand continues on Tuesday night when the Arizona Coyotes come to town before the Stars return on Thursday evening.
Pete Weber’s call of Calle Jarnkrok’s goal
