Nashville 5, Minnesota 2
When: 6:00 PM ET, Sunday, October 24, 2021
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees:
Chris Schlenker, Furman South
Linesmen:
Ryan Galloway, Justin Johnson
Attendance:
16014
By Field Level Media
Roman Josi had a goal and three assists, Ryan Johansen tallied twice and goaltender Connor Ingram won his NHL debut as the Nashville Predators defeated the Minnesota Wild 5-2 Sunday night in Saint Paul, Minn.
Filip Forsberg added a goal and an assist, Tanner Jeannot also scored and Matt Duchene had three assists for the Predators, who posted their first road victory of the season.
Ingram, a 24-year-old who split last season between the American Hockey League's Chicago Wolves and Sweden, made 33 saves.
Nick Bjugstad and Nico Sturm scored for the Wild, who saw their season-opening four-game winning streak come to an end. Goalie Kaapo Kahkonen, making his first start of the season, stopped 24 of 29 shots.
The Predators, coming off a 6-4 loss in Winnipeg the previous day, charged to a 3-0 lead in the first period.
Josi, the 2020 Norris Trophy winner as the NHL's top defenseman, opened the scoring with a power-play goal just 3:45 in, after Kahkonen allowed a long rebound on a shot by Duchene.
Johansen made it 2-0 on the power play at 5:54, knocking his own rebound into the net.
Josi set up Johansen at 12:25 of the first, taking the puck at the point, spinning past a defender and feeding a wide-open Johansen for a one-timer from between the top of the faceoff circles.
Bjugstad got the Wild on the board at 11:30 of the second, taking a pass off the boards from Jon Merrill and skating down the right wing before burying a shot just inside the far post.
Josi hit a slap shot from the point at 13:15, and it careened off Forsberg's leg and past Kahkonen to restore Nashville's three-goal advantage. The goal was first credited to Josi, but later changed to Forsberg.
Jeannot took a pass from Yakov Trenin and batted it out of midair and into the net to give the Predators a 5-1 lead at 18:35 of the second.
Sturm scored after a Brandon Duhaime shot squirted through Ingram's pads and stopped just shy of the goal line, with Sturm tapping it home with three seconds left in the second to make it 5-2.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Nashville |
|
Minnesota |
Roman Josi 4 |
Points |
Nick Bjugstad 1 |
Ryan Johansen 2 |
Goals |
Nick Bjugstad 1 |
Roman Josi 3 |
Assists |
Brandon Duhaime 1 |
Ryan Johansen 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Connor Ingram .943 |
Save Percentage |
Kaapo Kahkonen .828 |
Connor Ingram 33 |
Saves |
Kaapo Kahkonen 24 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Nashville
|
29 |
5 |
2-6 |
5-5 |
10 |
38 |
Minnesota
|
35 |
2 |
0-5 |
4-6 |
12 |
32 |
Upcoming Games
-
Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Vancouver. The Wild have a W/L % of .750 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
-
Nashville will play their next game at home against San Jose. The Predators have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .500 after a loss.