On the eve of the NHL trade deadline, the Nashville Predators hosted the Seattle Kraken and won 5-3. Nashville was led by two goals from Filip Forsberg and saw rookie Ozzy Wiesblatt pick up his first career point.
“Got a shot off, went low to high and it ended up hitting my stick then [Michael McCarron] wrapped it around,” Wiesblatt said.
Head coach Andrew Brunette was complimentary of how Wiesblatt played against the Kraken in his fourth career game.
“I loved his game. It’s exactly what we’re hoping for and every time we see him he’s more comfortable,” Brunette said. “I thought he was a major factor and we need his energy a little bit like Cole Smith. He brings that energy and speed. He’s on top of pucks and there’s no room when he’s there and he made some nice plays. I thought he wa outstanding tonight.”
Seattle put their stamp on the game just 32 seconds in as defenseman Adam Larsson batted a backhanded shot past goalie Juuse Saros making it 1-0. Nashville’s defense was fending off the Kraken forwards and Larsson dropped down to find the loose puck.
Nashville tied it up 1-1 after a few offensive possessions and maintained a persistent attack. It led to Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn turning over the puck after catching an edge and falling over. Colton Sissons picked up the puck and found Filip Forsberg breaking down the middle and the forward fired a low wrist shot past Joey Daccord.
“Loved the way we responded and the shift right after the goal,” Brunette said. “We put the work boots on and went at them. For 40 minutes we were relentless and on top of them, similar to the Boston game.”
After the Predators killed off their penalty that bled over into the second frame it was D-man Brady Skjei who gave Nashville a 2-1 lead. Steven Stamkos found him on the point and he floated a wrister in for his eighth of the season.
Forsberg continued to drive the offense for Nashville as he extended his team’s lead to 3-1. His shot was deflected in on an attempted poke check by Shane Wright and Daccord wasn’t prepared for the redirection. Forsberg’s second goal of the night marked the fifth multi-goal effort of the season and put him on hat trick watch.
Nashville’s scoring output in the second frame ended with McCarron burying a wraparound goal extending Nashville’s lead to 4-1 after 40 minutes of play.
Forward Ozzy Wiesblatt picked up his first career point on the play with an assist on McCarron’s fourth goal of the season.
Seattle returned fire on their second powerplay opportunity in the third period as Jared McCann ripped a slapshot to the top right corner of the net. The Kraken made it 4-2 after scoring early in the contest.
Luke Evangelista added some insurance scoring on the empty net to make it 5-2 with 2:45 remaining in regulation. Then Michael Eyssimont made it 5-3 with 1:46 left.
“It was compete, it was effort and outworking people. We have to keep doing that,” Wiesblatt said.
Up Next
The Predators are set to host the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night to close out their season series.
Stay tuned for trade deadline news should Nashville make any more moves before Friday’s 2 p.m. deadline. So far the Predators have traded three players since last Saturday.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photos courtesy of Nashville Predators
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