All offseason it has been clear that if the Nashville Predators are going to atone for the debacle that happened last season, they were going to need their franchise goaltender Juuse Saros to return to his top form.
With 37 total saves on 38 shots faced, including 10 saves in the third period, Saros was able to hold off a speedy and talented young team in the Columbus Blue Jackets who were top-10 in goals scored lasts season.
It's just one game of 82, but starting off 1-0-0 sure feels a lot better than starting 0-5-0 which is what happened last season. The Predators could never recover from that, so at least this season they're starting off with a win over a team that has legit playoff aspirations.
X-Factor #1: Juuse Saros holds off a Columus team with a lot of speed while the Nashville Predators searched for that go-ahead goal
It ended up being a low-scoring affair between the Predators and the Blue Jackets despite both teams getting plenty of good looks on the respective goaltenders. However, Saros saw their higher outpute of shots than his counterpart Jet Greaves faced on the other end.
Saros' lone goal surrendered was also on a fluttering puck that deflected off two teammates before trickling past him. Almost like a choppy groundball in baseball getting past the shortstop. Just a tricky puck for Saros to track through a ton of traffic, which tied the game at 1-1 at 16:01 of the first period.
Other than that unfortunate bounce, Saros was completely locked in. Nothing really fooled him and he looked extremely confident in the crease with his rebound control and just seeing the pucks. Credit is also due to the Predators defense for collpasing around Saros to give him easier saves.
So while the shout total allowed is higher than you'd like, you're also pleased to see that the scoring opportunities weren't usually in the high danger areas for Columbus.
Saros getting off to a strong start is very important after the season he is coming off of. He saw plenty of shots and avoided the dreaded soft goal that could've let Columbus taste some blood in the water and overtake this game. Saros wasn't having any of that.
The save of the night from Saros came not too longer after Columbus tied the score. Adam Fantilli had Saros 1-on-1 in close to the net with some nifty stickhandling to try and beat Saros right past the post, but Saros was able to show his athleticism to get the pad down and deny Fantilli.
X-Factor #2: Nashville Predators Veterans lead the charge while the youth goes through the learning phase
It ended up being a very interesting opening night lineup with rookie sensation Brady Martin taking top line center honors with Filip Forsberg and Ryan O'Reilly. O'Reilly moving to the right wing was definitely something we couldn't have envisioned at this time last year.
Then there was Jonathan Marchessault lining up in the bottom-six on the third line with fellow veterans Erik Haula and Michael Bunting. A bruising line that brings a lot of energy and it really showed in this game, generating the first goal of the 2025-26 season for Nashville.
Bunting's goal, his sixth goal as a member of the Predators, came thanks to his hustle through the neutral zone with a loose puck and just generating some chaos. His initial shot was deflected but found Haula's stick, and then eventually back to Bunting for a sweet shot to beat Greaves up high.
The go-ahead goal for the Predators comes from the top power play unit that featured all of the top veterans in Forsberg, Marchessault, Roman Josi, Steven Stamkos and Ryan O'Reilly.
Early in the third period with the game still knotted at 1-1, the Predators were getting another power play opportunity and really needed to deliver in this moment. Columbus had been pushing hard to get the go-ahead goal, and even had a tough goalie interference call go aginst them just before the second intermission. Nashville needed to steal back the momentum.
O'Reilly would secure one of the more veteran crafty goals you'll see, fooling Greaves in net with a backhand shot in close. "The Factor" just showed patience and found the shot he wanted with the stickhandling.
Top cheese deserves a second look 👀 pic.twitter.com/aVycV4Utqk
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) October 10, 2025
It's O'Reilly's 25th power play goal since joining the Predators two seasons ago, and his 97th of his NHL career.
Josi also looked really good in this game and didn't look rusty at all. Managed to block five shots while putting up 22:51 of ice time, just few seconds fewer than Brady Skjei for the team lead among skaters.
As excited as we were to see Brady Martin and Joakim Kemell out there, the veterans really put together a solid game to generate the two goals needed to get the win.
X-Factor #3: Goalie Interference goes the way of the Nashville Predators
In real time I didn't see enough there to whipe away that goal for Columbus. Just being objective here. The contact by Mathieu Olivier looked minimal enough to not overturn the goal. He was in the blue paint prior to the shot being fired towards Saros, but moved out enough for me to expect the goal to stand.
The officials didn't see it that way, and the Predators got a fortunate break on a goalie interference call that everyone has been on the wrong end of at one time or another. This was a turning point in the game right before the second intermission when Columbus was really putting the pressure on Saros.
How many times in the past, especially last season, have we seen Saros play a great game up until a certain point, and then the bottom just falls out? Everything just sprials out of control for a flurry of goals. It felt like there was the potential of that happening if this goal stands and Columbus takes a 2-1 lead into the intermission.
Sometimes you need a break or two to go your way, and this was certainly the case with this call. Now with that said, I don't think it's the sole reason the Predators won. They took care of their business in the third period and had Saros on their side to make sure the two points were secured.