Nashville Predators Bring Defensive Grit in Season-Opener Win

It wasn’t very often last season that we could say the Nashville Predators won a game thanks to their team defense and solid play in front of their goaltender.

How sweet it is to have Nashville Predators hockey back, and they treated us to a win in their season-opener over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Despite giving up the first goal on a shaky play defensively by Dante Fabbro, the Predators prevailed after that and eventually seized the momentum n the 3-1 win.

This game was expected to be a close one between two teams expected to be battling it out for a top-four spot in the division, which will mean a playoff berth after a 56-game regular season.

Even though the final score indicates a defensive struggle, there were ample opportunities for Columbus to extend the 1-0 leader early on, and for the Predators to run up the score after getting the equalizer.

How it unfolded

The Blue Jackets were gifted with a breakaway to get the scoring after Fabbro failed to make a pass that in turn led to a goal by Columbus’ Boone Jenner. Juuse Saros nearly made the stop, but it snuck past him at 9:24 for the first period.

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Saros got more help from his linemates defensively after that, and he held strong when he was tested. Columbus managed 18 shots on Saros in the last two periods after getting 12 in the first period.

There were some close calls when Columbus nearly made it 2-0 over the Predators.

The Predators continued to try to crack Columbus goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, but he stood tall. He kept the Predators off the scoreboard for a while, until Luke Kunin finally brok through for the Predators.

Kunin had a 2-on-1 breakaway and finished off the goal instead of making the extra pass. Something you love to see. A breakaway attempt that actually finished with a goal. Here’s a look at it from the Predators official website:

I’ve been extremely impressed with how Kunin has handled himself since getting his contract worked out with the Predators. He came in late to training camp, but he hasn’t missed a beat.

Kunin looked very strong on that second line with Matt Duchene and Erik Haula. It’ll be interesting to see how things shake up when Mikael Granlund gets into the fold.

It took a while with the score being tied 1-1 and getting a defensive grudge match of sorts before Filip Forsberg worked his magic and scored what would end up being the game-winner.

Forsberg took the puck out of the defensive zone and down the ice with little opposition and made a quick wrister that easily beat Korpisalo. Momentum firmly shifted after that towards the Predators.

The Predators defense really kicked in, and Calle Jarnkork would add the empty net goal to put this one away. Only the second win for the Predators in 10 months.

Players who stood out

The big standout is naturally going to be Forsberg because he’s the star player that scored the game-winner. He had a solid all-around game, including two hits and two blocks to go along with his goal.

Kunin made the most of his time on ice. He only logged 13:24 of ice time, but ended up breaking through with the first goal for the Predators this season. He also added two hits and a blocked shot.

I was really impressed with Colton Sissons, who logged nearly 19 minutes of ice time. A player who has only averaged less than 14 minutes of ice time in his career. He took advantage and looked good out there.

A lot of the focus was on the newcomers of the roster, and Mark Borowiecki and Matt Benning played their roles well defensively. Both played well on the penalty kill, which the Predators ended up killing off both Columbus power plays.

The Predators are expected to hang their hats on defense more this season, and they showed that in this game. Smother the Columbus offensive attack after the first goal, blocking 20 shots as a team and also only surrendering five high-danger chances.

The rematch is Saturday night and will also be at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Predators start off the new season on a high note.