Juuse Saros made 33 saves in net for the Nashville Predators, who earned their first win of the season with a 4-0 shutout of the Boston Bruins at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday.
It was the 24th shutout of Saros’ career and his first since March 23 against the Detroit Red Wings. Zachary L’Heureux also skated in his NHL debut in Tuesday’s game against Boston, finishing with one shot and four hits in 9:59 of ice time for the Predators.
The Predators opened the scoring late in the first period, when Max Jones went into the penalty box for a tripping call against Alexandre Carrier. Ryan O’Reilly tapped in a one-timer from Roman Josi seconds into the Predators’ power play to give Nashville a 1-0 lead at 17:16 of the first.
Shifts immediately after goals have been a focus for Predators head coach Andrew Brunette during practice this week after Nashville repeatedly gave up leads after scoring in their last few games. David Pastrnak broke loose for a quick shot on the first shift after O’Reilly’s goal, but Saros came up with another big stop and the Predators responded with pressure to maintain their one-goal lead heading into the first intermission.
Boston came out swinging in the second period, spending most of the first five minutes on Nashville’s end. But Saros came up with some key saves to maintain the 1-0 lead.
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Charlie McAvoy was called for a double-minor for high-stick Steven Stamkos at 12:53 of the second period, giving the Predators a four-minute lead. Just seconds after the penalty expired, Tommy Novak gave the Predators their first multi-goal lead of the season with a goal off a rebound of a Luke Evangelista shot.
The Predators weathered another storm to start the third period, but Gustav Nyquist picked up the puck on a 2-on-1 and fired a shot past Jeremy Swayman for his first goal of the season, putting the Predators up 3-0 got ahead and the lead was broken. game wide open at 12:47 of the third period. Evangelista scored into the empty net just over a minute later for the 4-0 final.
“That’s a great lesson for us,” O’Reilly said after the game. “That feeling out there and that intensity is what we have to continue to bring. That’s how we’re going to get out of this hole.”
The Predators will look to continue digging out of their 1-5-0 hole on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday before returning home to host the Columbus Blue Jackets at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.
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