The Nashville Predators fell 4-1 against the Florida Panthers in game three of four in their current homestand.
“We weren’t really prepared to play our best and we weren’t prepared for the pace of the game,” head coach Andrew Brunette said. “It took us a while to get emotionally involved. I thought once we got emotionally involved it was getting to be that kind of game.”
Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov had two assists in the win while rookie Justin Sourdif scored his first career goal in his fourth NHL game.
“It’s going to be a challenge. I think going through this being where you are when things aren’t going particularly well they’re hard games,” Brunette said. “A game like tonight where they’re not going to give you a whole lot it tests a little bit of your resilience and a little bit of your pride.”
The Panthers didn’t take long to capitalize on an early mistake from the Predators to open the game. Just 58 seconds in Michael McCarron was called for delay of game and Florida’s ninth-ranked powerplay went to work.
After a clean breakout, Barkov corraled the puck in the left circle and saw Sam Reinhart work his way to the front of the net. Reinhart found Sam Bennett in tight as the duo didn’t have any defenders on them. Bennett quickly moved the puck on his backhand to beat Juuse Saros and claimed a 1-0 lead.
Nashville mustered seven shots in the first stanza with one attempt going off the crossbar. It was a look from Jonathan Marchessault that briefly set off the goal horn.
McCarron and Jonah Gadjovich set the tone for the second as the two decided to go toe-to-toe in a fight. It was McCarron’s eighth fight of the season as he was trying to ignite a spark for Nashville.
Instead of the Predators building off that moment, the Panthers saw rookie Justin Sourdif notch his first career goal to make it 2-0 Florida. The 22-year-old rushed up the ice with his linemates and Jesper Boqvist fed him a clean pass that led to the goal.
Nashville had their second powerplay of the night after Bennett was called for boarding captain Roman Josi. The Predators failed to convert on the man advantage as they continued to try and find the back of the net. Through the last five periods, the Predators were unable to score a goal.
“We played with passion. You don’t really even know what to say anymore as far as the overall team game goes,” defenseman Luke Schenn said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been part of a group where you literally can’t score goals.”
As both teams returned to the ice for the final frame the Predators did so without Josi.
Nashville continued to find chances offensively and then on a play in tight McCarron ended the goal drought – it lasted 115:19 dating back to the last goal scored on Saturday – cutting their deficit down to 2-1.
A few minutes later Cole Smith and Bennett got into a spirited fight, presumably in response to his illegal check on Josi in the second period.
Florida responded and went ahead 3-1 with a goal approximately five minutes later as defenseman Gustav Forsling fired a shot from the blue line.
Anton Lundell thought he added some salt to the wound scoring with 5:35 remaining but there was deemed to be goaltender interference after a challenge from Nashville.
“It’s very taxing. You need to score to win in this league,” Schenn said about how difficult the season has been mentally. “We get some big saves a lot of the times but you feel for both goalies… When you’re trying to win a game all the time and you don’t score it’s extremely challenging. Every play means that much more.”
Mackie Samoskevich ended up scoring Florida’s fourth goal of the night with 4:28 remaining in regulation to seal the Panther’s 35th win of the season.
Up next the Predators conclude their four-game homestand against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night. Pete Weber & Jay More will be on the call with the pregame show with Max Herz starting at 6 p.m.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photos courtesy of Nashville Predators
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