The Nashville Predators have been on both sides of a comeback in their last two games. They’ll look to finish their three-game road trip on a high note when they visit the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
On Tuesday, Nashville squandered a 3-0 lead in a 5-4 overtime road loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Two days later, the Predators fell behind 2-0 but reeled off five unanswered goals to notch a 5-2 road win over the Montreal Canadiens.
Ryan O’Reilly scored the go-ahead goal, redirecting Roman Josi’s blast from the point on the power play to open Nashville’s three-goal third period.
The Predators converted twice on five power-play opportunities.
“Playing together the last few years, you see the chemistry in our power play,” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said.
For O’Reilly, Nashville’s ability to generate offense starts with digging the puck out and letting its skilled players create.
“It has to start with winning battles,” O’Reilly said. “We do that, we get the puck, and we’ve got so much talent out there.”
Against Ottawa, O’Reilly wants to see a quicker start.
“Definitely some things we’ve really got to improve on,” O’Reilly said. “We just need to have more of an attack mindset right away.”
Nashville forward Mavrik Bourque and defenseman William Trudeau both left Thursday’s game with upper-body injuries and did not return. Trudeau was placed on injured reserve and is week-to-week, the team announced Friday.
After three straight road games to open their season, the Senators earned a 2-1 victory in their home opener Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers, handing Philadelphia its fifth consecutive loss to open the season.
Rookie defenseman Carter Yakemchuk scored his first career power-play goal, the game-winner, at 13:01 of the third period.
Ottawa coach Travis Green acknowledged Yakemchuk will experience growing pains but believes the rookie is making progress.
“He looks a little more comfortable and has gotten better,” Green said. “He’ll still have nights where he might not be at his best, but that’s what it’s like to be a young guy in this league.”
The Senators held off a late Philadelphia push to secure two points, the kind of resilience Green wants to see from a team that has won three of its first four games.
“You’ve got to find a way to get the job done,” Green said. “I think our team has matured over the years. But there are a lot of close games that come down to the final moments, especially if you don’t hit the empty net (goal).”
Ottawa forward William Eklund, acquired in a June 23 trade with the San Jose Sharks, will be out for an extended period with an ankle injury, Green announced Friday. Eklund, who has a goal and an assist in his first season with the Senators, is not expected to need surgery and likely will return sometime during the regular season.
Defenseman Jake Sanderson (lower body) participated in Friday’s optional practice after not playing against Philadelphia. Sanderson has no set return date, though he is expected to join the team in the next few days.
Despite Thursday’s comeback, O’Reilly believes the Predators have room for improvement heading into Saturday’s matchup with Ottawa.
“We know we still haven’t played our best hockey yet,” O’Reilly said.
