Roman Josi and Alexandre Carrier scored and provided an assist, leading the Nashville Predators to a 4-2 win against the New Jersey Devils on Friday night.
Philip Tomasino and Mikael Granlund also found the net, while Juuse Saros made 23 saves for Nashville, which has won two of their last three games.
“Our execution was strong, which allowed us to get to the game and be on the attack,” said Nashville coach John Hynes. “We did many things purposefully in the offensive zone, generating quality looks and zone time. The guys were hard on pucks.”
Andreas Johnsson and Tomas Tatar scored for New Jersey, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 27 saves. The Devils have now lost two consecutive games.
“That’s probably the worst game I’ve seen us play,” New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff admitted. “We didn’t win the compete battles early, didn’t engage early. We were second on a lot of plays. We wouldn’t have beaten anybody tonight. It’s just the truth.”
Saros faced little resistance in the first 40 minutes, stopping just two New Jersey shots in the first period and seven in the second.
“We weren’t ready, and we’ve got to find a way,” said Devils captain Nico Hischier. “There’s no excuse. We’ve just got to be ready. Everybody has to do that individually. We’re not winning a game the way we played tonight.”
Josi scored at 7:31 of the first period with a tough-angle wrist shot during a 4-on-4 situation, squeezing the puck between Blackwood’s pads.
The Predators were pleased with their performance on Friday, despite losing 5-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights two days earlier.
“Against Vegas, we gave them some goals with a couple of bad turnovers, didn’t really execute out of our zone, and I thought that was a lot better tonight,” Josi said. “Especially in the first. We had a lot of pressure, a lot of zone time, and a lot of shots.”
Tomasino made it 2-0 at 3:30 of the second period, tipping a centering pass from Nick Cousins past Blackwood for his fourth goal of the season.
Nashville is now 8-0-0 when leading after two periods this season.
Granlund extended the lead to 3-0 at 6:45 of the third period, scoring from the low slot after receiving a pass from Matt Duchene, who was positioned below the New Jersey goal line. Duchene has 20 points in 20 career games against the Devils.
Johnsson spoiled Saros’ shutout bid at 11:58 of the third with his seventh goal of the season.
Carrier added an empty-net goal with 1:10 remaining, followed quickly by Tatar’s breakaway goal in the final minute.
BASTIAN RETURNS
Nate Bastian returned to New Jersey’s lineup after being claimed off waivers from the Seattle Kraken.
“I liked his play,” Ruff said. “That line gave us energy. They did the right thing. They were heavy on the puck and got in first.”
The Devils selected Bastian 41st overall in the 2016 draft, and he was taken by Seattle in the expansion draft earlier this season. After playing 12 games with the Kraken, Bastian was placed on waivers and reclaimed by New Jersey.
JOSI’S 700TH GAME
Josi played his 700th career NHL game, all with the Predators. Drafted 38th overall in 2008, Josi won the Norris Trophy in 2020 as the NHL’s best defenseman and has been Nashville’s captain since the 2017-18 season.
“Time flies,” Josi reflected. “I remember when I first came here, 10 or 11 years ago. It’s pretty cool to hit 700 games. I’m definitely grateful and proud to have played so many games in Nashville. It’s been an amazing ride, and I don’t take it for granted.”
Josi ranks fourth in Predators franchise history for games played, trailing only David Legwand (956), Shea Weber (763), and Martin Erat (723). He has recorded the most points by a Swiss-born player in NHL history with 466.
WHAT’S NEXT
- The Predators travel to Colorado on Saturday,
- New Jersey returns home Sunday to host the Flyers.
