Saros Does Saros Things, Gives Fans a Reason to Chant “JUUIIIICCEEE”
You might as well just copy and paste this into every win for the Nashville Predators. If Saros doesn’t show up, usually this team has no chance. Even when he does put together epic performances, his team routinely has come up short and not provided goal support.
Finally, Saros got some help on the scoreboard as the Predators struck first thanks to aggressive play with the puck from Tommy Novak, and
cleaning it up for a rebound goal:
I understand that Saros surrendered three goals against this stacked Oilers team that 5th in the NHL in goals per game at 3.58. He held them under their season average while making 30 saves.
Saros also came up just shy of saving an extra goal according to MoneyPuck, with a 0.91 Goals Saved Above Expected.
We knew the Oilers were going to bring the heat in the third period, and that why they did. McDavid comes flying into the neutral zone like a slingshot, and Saros had to use his elite movement in the crease and flexibility to be locked in.
The Oilers are a matchup nightmare for a low-scoring team like the Predators, but on this occasion, Saros was good enough to keep the Oilers below four goals and give his team a realistic chance to win.
Unfortunately, this is how high of a level Saros will have to continue to play at for the Predators to climb back into a playoff spot. In fact, he might have to kick it up even another gear unless more goal support is on its way.