In Nashville, the Predators extended their point streak to 17 games on Saturday, in a 1-0 win over the visiting Detroit Red Wings.
Juuse Saros made 23 saves for his third shutout of the season.
“It’s fun to be a part of this,” Saros said. “It just starts every day with keeping that same focus and not taking nights off. It’s been great. I feel like we’re building something special here.”
The Predators improved to 42-25-4, they are 15-0-2 over the point streak.
“A lot of big blocks today again,” Saros said. “The penalty kill has been a huge part that has been working really well. I think we’re all kind of on the same page and really committed. Playing our way.”
With the win, the Preds are seven points clear of the Vegas Golden Knights for the first wild card spot in the Western Conference.
“I think we’ve been on a stretch here for a long time where we’ve given everything we’ve had,” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. “I think we ran out of a little gas both physically and, probably as much emotionally, over this stretch. We have to be mindful of rest and recovery. We can’t expect us to be great every night. But again, probably for me the proudest of the group for this stretch is that we’re able to find it in the third period.”
Filip Forsberg was the game’s lone striker, he scored at 14:46 of the third period, hitting off a shot from the right circle.
“I think we just kind of take over as we go,” Forsberg said. “This one was two periods that maybe wasn’t necessarily the greatest, but we know what we can do. We know what we work hard for in training camp and everything. I do want to give that some credit. We’re in good shape, and we all come out ready to go in the third. The third was by far our best period of the night, and it ended up being enough.”
The Red Wings dropped to 36-29-6.
“It was just really frustrating and disappointing that, unfortunately, it came down to one play,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “We had it on our stick three different times within that flurry, and it’s kind of self-inflicted. A lot of positives, obviously, but just a huge missed opportunity for a point.”
Alex Lyon made 32 saves in the loss.
“I thought the guys were great tonight,” Lyon said. “Passioned and emotion and blocking shots. [Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider] is always blocking shots. Guys were awesome tonight, and I thought we were communicating really well in the [defensive] zone. I think that’s important for us, and I think it makes the game simpler and cleaner.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.