The Toronto Maple Leafs made their way to Nashville to take on the Nashville Predators. On Thursday night, they held on for a 4-3 win against the New York Rangers, moving into the top spot in the Atlantic Division. As for the Predators, they’re just looking to finish the season on a positive note. After what seemed like a strong offseason, it’s been a rough year. At this point, players are competing to show management they deserve a spot in the organization moving forward.
With that, let’s jump into a Saturday night recap between the Maple Leafs and Predators.
Game Recap
1st Period
The game started at a great pace, with both teams generating chances, but Juuse Saros and Joseph Woll shut the door heading into the first TV timeout. The deadlock was finally broken after a sloppy high-sticking call on Luke Evangelista, sending Toronto to the power play. John Tavares capitalized, collecting the puck in the slot and firing it past a screened Saros to make it 1-0.
That goal gave Tavares yet another 30-goal season. Shortly after, Mitch Marner extended the lead to 2-0 off a set faceoff play, where Auston Matthews won the draw to him at the hash marks, and he ripped it past Saros. Moments later, Scott Laughton tipped a point shot from Brandon Carlo into the net. The goal was initially called good on the ice, but after review, it was overturned due to a high stick. Nashville took another undisciplined penalty but managed to kill it off, heading into the second period down 2-0.
2nd Period
The Predators started the second period on the power play after Matthew Knies took a penalty late in the first. Michael Bunting, a former Maple Leaf now playing for Nashville, capitalized on the man advantage, beating Woll to cut the lead to 2-1. The first ten minutes of the period became a typical trap game from Nashville, as they dumped the puck in and played physically against Toronto’s blue line. Eventually, it paid off when Kieffer Bellows scored to tie the game 2-2.
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It looked like the period would end deadlocked, but with less than a minute left, Filip Forsberg rushed down the ice and poked the puck past Woll to give Nashville a 3-2 lead heading into the third.
3rd Period
The Maple Leafs entered the third period playing catch-up. The pace slowed compared to the first 40 minutes, with Toronto generating some early chances, but Nashville tightened up defensively. Six minutes in, Max Domi attempted to flip the puck out of the zone but sent it over the glass, resulting in another Nashville power play. However, the Predators couldn’t capitalize, and the score remained 3-2.
Nashville doubled their lead after Morgan Rielly missed a key opportunity to tie the game. Moments later, Nick Blankenburg was called for holding Knies, sending Toronto to another power play. Again, they failed to convert, leaving the score at 4-2. With three minutes left, Toronto pulled Woll for the extra attacker but couldn’t break through Saros. Eventually, Forsberg took advantage of the empty net and sealed the game 5-2, handing Toronto a tough loss.
Looking Ahead for Both Teams
The Maple Leafs head home to face off against the Philadelphia Flyers, before taking a quick trip to California to face off against the San Jose Sharks. As for the Predators, they head out on the road to take on the St. Louis Blues, before continuing their road trip with a game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Both teams are on polar opposite sides of the standings, so for the Maple Leafs they are trying to tighten things up before the playoffs. For Nashville, they are counting the games down until the end of the season.
