Jared Spurgeon scored in overtime and the Minnesota Wild collected their 11th consecutive win as they topped the Nashville Predators by a 3-2 final on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena.
The result gives Nashville a point in the standings, as well as points in four of their last five games, but that fact didn’t provide much consolation for a team trying to stay in the thick of the Central Division race coming out of the holiday break.
“We need to find a way to be ready to play,” forward Filip Forsberg said. “We have to be ready right away. [We didn’t score on an early power play] and they scored right after. That’s not the way we want to start the game, and we’d rather play with the lead.”
“It was difficult with the amount of penalties we had to kill in the first period; it was hard to get in a rhythm and a flow,” Nashville Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “I thought in the second period we did a good job of coming out and tying up the game… I thought the pushback in the second period to get it tied 2-2 was good.”
After Minnesota took a 1-0 lead into the locker room following the conclusion of the first period, Forsberg collected his third goal in his last four games to even the score. The Wild struck back less than 90 seconds later courtesy of Chris Stewart, but Nashville found the equalizer once more off the stick of Reid Boucher, his first as a member of the Preds.
The teams traded chances throughout the third period and Nashville had some looks in overtime before Spurgeon finished off a 2-on-1 to end it.
“We had a lot of chances; this game was kind of back and forth,” Forsberg said. “[James Neal] had two good looks and almost scored there [in overtime], then they just go the other way and score.”
The divisional foes keep coming for the Preds as they host the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, before traveling to St. Louis on Friday with crucial points on the line as the calendar year winds down.
“It’s a big week, definitely,” Josi said. “We are playing two teams that are ahead of us in our division. It’s a huge week, and we just have to get some wins.”
Notes:
Filip Forsberg now has three goals in his last four games and has a point in five of his last six home games against the Wild (4g-1a).
Defenseman P.K. Subban did not play on Tuesday, missing his fifth consecutive game with an upper-body injury.
After being recalled Dec. 23 from a conditioning assignment in Milwaukee (AHL), forward Reid Boucher skated 9:56 and recorded his first Nashville goal in his second career game with the Preds.
The Predators finish off the week with a back-to-back set, beginning on Thursday when they host the Chicago Blackhawks before flying to St. Louis to face the Blues on Friday.
Pete Weber’s post game report
