The Predators had themselves a record-breaking night in Philadelphia, but the Flyers ultimately came back to defeat Nashville by a 5-4 final on Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center. The result halts Nashville’s win streak at two games and keeps them at 74 points in the Central Division standings.
Filip Forsberg tied David Legwand’s franchise goal-scoring record with his 210th career tally, and Roman Josi set Nashville’s franchise record for assists in a single season with 55. Tanner Jeannot, Philippe Myers and Ryan Johansen also found the back of the net for the Preds, but the Flyers scored twice late in the third period to spoil an otherwise notable evening in Philadelphia.
“Honestly, I think we got what we deserved,” Josi said. “The first two periods weren’t good, and they outplayed us. We kind of hung in there and found some ways to score some goals, but overall, I didn’t think we played well in the first two periods. I actually thought our third was a little bit better. We started well, we put some pressure on them, but they ended up scoring two goals. So, all in all we got what we deserved, and it wasn’t good enough from our side.”
“[Our game] wasn’t at the standard that we need to play with,” Preds Head Coach John Hynes said. “We have an identity and a commitment level that we need to play with. We talk about icing the game that gives us the best chance to win regardless of who we play, and we weren’t at that level tonight.”
The Flyers had a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes courtesy of a goal from Travis Sanheim, but 23 seconds into the second stanza, Jeannot sniped his 20th of the season – just the second rookie to do so in Predators franchise history – to even the score.
Video: NSH@PHI: Jeannot’s quick shot ties it 1-1
Philadelphia responded quickly with two more of their own from Cam York and James van Riemsdyk, but the Preds answered again. Just minutes after the Flyers took a 3-1 lead, Myers tallied his first as a member of the Predators to bring Nashville back to within a goal, and then Mikael Granlund found Johansen on the power play, and the centerman redirected the puck past Carter Hart for a 3-3 tie through two periods.
Then, Forsberg found some history.
No. 9’s 210th career goal was one of the best he’s ever scored – a between-the-legs beauty in tight at the top of the Philadelphia crease to give his club their first lead of the evening.
Video: NSH@PHI: Forsberg flips the puck between the legs
“That was an unreal goal,” Josi said of Forsberg’s marker. “It was one of those goals that only Fil can score – between the legs, so quick in front of the net, and there wasn’t a lot of space. He’s been unbelievable for us all year. He’s scoring so many important goals. He’s such an amazing goal-scorer, and his shot is unbelievable. It’s definitely something he can be really proud of, tying that scoring record. It’s a huge accomplishment, for sure.”
But then, it was the home team’s turn to stage a comeback. Kevin Hayes tied the game with less than five minutes to play in regulation, and then Joel Farabee tapped in a feed at the side of the net to beat Juuse Saros and give the Flyers a 5-4 win.
“It wasn’t our game, especially in the first two periods,” Josi said. “I think in this League, no matter where you play, you’ve got to be able to play your game, you’ve got to play to your identity. And if you don’t do that, you’re not going to be successful. It doesn’t matter who you play – every team is good in this League. Tonight wasn’t our identity, and that’s one of the big reasons we lost.”
Now, the Predators will shift their focus to hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, and Nashville will be eager to make amends for an effort that they say simply wasn’t acceptable.
“We didn’t play the way that we wanted to play,” Hynes said. “You’re not going to win every game the rest of the season, but we’re talking with our group about playing consistently to the identity that gives us the best chance to win regardless of who we play. We weren’t at that level tonight. We didn’t play our game, our attention to detail without the puck was inefficient, our execution with the puck was lacking, our competitiveness was lacking – it was not a performance that deserved to win.”
Notes:
Only six defensemen in NHL history have reached the 70-point mark in fewer games than Josi (59 GP): Paul Coffey (7x; last: 54 GP in 1990-91), Bobby Orr (6x; last: 37 GP in 1974-75), Dennis Potvin (3x; last: 51 GP in 1978-79), Brian Leetch (57 GP in 1991-92), Phil Housley (57 GP in 1991-92) and Al MacInnis (57 GP in 1990-91).
Jeannot became the second rookie in franchise history to score 20 goals in a season, joining Forsberg (26 G in 2014-15), and he also broke the franchise record for hits in a single season with 212.
Matt Duchene extended his road point streak to 10 games (6-8-14) and established the longest such run in franchise history. Prior to this season, Roman Josi‘s nine-game streak in 2019-20 stood as the longest.
Josi recorded his 10th career three-assist game – the most among all players in franchise history.
Nashville’s lineup remained unchanged from Tuesday’s win over Pittsburgh. Predators defenseman Matt Benning did not play and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Blueliner Mark Borowiecki (day-to-day, lower-body) was also absent, and forward Matt Luff was scratched.
The Predators will host Toronto on Saturday evening (6 p.m. CT) at Bridgestone Arena before heading out west next week.