Nashville center Ryan Johansen
Craig Smith scored two power-play goals and Ryan Johansen finished it off in overtime, as the Nashville Predators defeated the Carolina Hurricanes by a 5-4 final on Sunday afternoon to close out the 2018 preseason.
It was a back-and-forth affair on the day with Carolina finding a way to tie the game each time Nashville took a lead. But, in the end, it was the Preds who converted when it mattered most, the perfect way to finish off the exhibition slate.
The Predators had dropped three straight coming into Sunday’s game, and more than anything, Nashville Head Coach Peter Laviolette wanted to see a better effort from his club. An overtime victory was an added bonus.
“We competed a lot better, generated a lot of chances and got a chance to work on a lot of things,” Laviolette said. “It’s nice to get a win. It always leaves you in a better frame of mind but a lot of it was about playing a better game than we did the last time, and I thought we accomplished that.”
Nashville’s top line converted just over four minutes into the contest, when Viktor Arvidsson found Ryan Johansen in front to take a 1-0 lead. Carolina’s Justin Williams evened the score less than three minutes later, however.
With less than five minutes to play in the opening frame, Smith sprung Kevin Fiala on a breakaway and the Preds winger beat Scott Darling for a 2-1 advantage. The Hurricanes responded once more, when Sebastian Aho tied the game again just 20 seconds later.
Carolina took five penalties in the second stanza, and Smith made them pay on one of the opportunities when he one-timed an Arvidsson feed home to give the Preds a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes.
“We moved it around well,” Smith said of the Preds power play. “We did that really well today, even with plays that were broken… The guys did a great job of keeping the play alive.”
After Carolina tied the game once more early in the third, Smith finished off a give-and-go with Filip Forsberg for his second power-play marker of the afternoon. But in a penalty-filled game that saw both teams combine for 14 power-play opportunities, eight of which went to Nashville, it was Carolina who used the man advantage to force OT with a late strike.
However, just 21 seconds into the extra time, Johansen finished it to send the Predators home with their third and final victory of the 2018 preseason.
“We definitely delivered that win,” Johansen said. “We have to stay out of the box, though. We gave them a chance to stay in it and put it to overtime, so if we limit those power-play opportunities to maybe two or three, I think it would’ve been a different score. But as long as we find a way to get it done and compete as hard as we did, that’s all that matters.”
The club will now head back to Nashville for a day off on Monday, followed by two more practices, before jetting north for an Opening Night matchup in Manhattan against the Rangers.
“We need to fine tune things here, push the pace and push the speed,” Laviolette said. “Penalties are still a problem for me, but we’ll talk about these things, get in front of the group and we’ll be ready to go to New York.”
Notes:
Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros split time in goal for the Predators on Sunday, with Saros getting credit for the victory. Rinne made 12 saves on the afternoon, while Saros stopped 14 shots.
Filip Forsberg dished out three assists on the day and co-led the team in points in the win (Smith, 2g-1a).
With the preseason schedule now complete, the Predators must be down to their opening, 23-man roster by Oct. 2 at 4 p.m. (CT).
Nashville opens the season on Thursday night in New York City against the Rangers, before meeting the Islanders in Brooklyn on Saturday. The Preds then return home to host the Calgary Flames on Oct. 9 to open the 2018-19 home schedule at Bridgestone Arena.
