Nashville Predators Allow 3 Power-Play Goals in 5-3 Loss to Minnesota Wild

The Nashville Predators lost their third straight game Tuesday, falling 5-3 to the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center.

Special teams proved to be the difference maker for Nashville, who finished 0-for-1 on the power play and 3-for-6 on the penalty kill.

Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson finished with 43 saves in the win, while Justus Annunen made 33 saves for Nashville. With the loss, the Predators fall to 3-13-4 on the road and 11-20-7 on the season.

How the Predators lined up vs. Minnesota

Forsberg-Stamkos-Marchessault
L'Heureux-O'Reilly-Nyquist
Jankowski- Novak-Evangelista
McCarron-Sissons-Hinostroza

Josi-Schenn
Skjei-Blankenburg
Lauzon-Barron

Annunen
Saros

Extra: Wilsby (day-to-day, upper-body)

IR: Smith

Defenseman Justin Barron, who was a healthy scratch in Monday's loss to the Winnipeg Jets, drew back into the lineup in place of Adam Wilsby, who is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The injury is not expected to be serious, as he played 18:29 Monday against the Jets, including nine shifts in the third period.

As a result, Nashville's top defensive pairing of Jeremy Lauzon and Roman Josi were split up, with Josi shifting back to the left side alongside Luke Schenn and Lauzon moving down to play opposite Barron on the third pairing.

Game Summary

A high-event first period saw a pair of fights break out in the first three minutes of the game. Lauzon dropped the gloves at 2:42 with Minnesota's Marcus Foligno, who laid a big hit on Tommy Novak that forced him to head back to the locker room with an injury; Novak returned to the game before the end of the period.

Just moments later, at 2:44, Zachary L'Heureux exchanged blows with Minnesota's Ben Jones for the first fight of his NHL career.

The Wild got their first lucky bounce at 7:54, when a shot from Mats Zuccarello came found Marco Rossi, who was screening Annunen in front of the net. Annunen made the initial save, but the puck squeaked through his pads and into the Nashville net to put the Wild on top, 1-0.

Nashville had an answer just three minutes later, when Colton Sissons got a piece of Brady Skjei's shot from the blue line to tie the game at 1-1. The Predators took their first lead of the game late in the period, capitalizing on a turnover by Minnesota's Yakov Trenin. The former Predators forward sent a back pass into the Wild defensive zone that landed on the stick of Steven Stamkos, who fired the puck across the ice to Jonathan Marchessault for the score to give Nashville a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission.

Things got even more interesting in the second period, starting with L'Heureux's match penalty that ended his night at the 3:19 mark. L'Heureux was whistled for a slew foot penalty against Minnesota's Jared Spurgeon as the two were chasing a loose puck, and Spurgeon was injured on the play and headed back to the locker room immediately.

L'Heureux earned an automatic game misconduct, disqualifying him from the game, while Trenin was assessed a minor penalty for roughing against L'Heureux in the aftermath of the play. As a result, the teams played two minutes at 4-on-4, followed by three minutes of a 5-on-4 power play for Minnesota.

Zuccarello tied it back up 2-2 during the Minnesota power play. Gustavsson cleared the puck up to Joel Eriksson Ek, who fed it to Zuccarello in front of the net for the tip-in. Jonas Brodin then gave Minnesota a 3-2 lead shortly after the power play expired with a wrist shot through traffic from the right point.

Ryan O’Reilly tied it up for Nashville at 12:01, when he found a rebound of a Gustav Nyquist shot at the left circle and punched it in to make it 3-3.

However, Declan Chisholm put Minnesota right back in front five minutes later with another power-play goal on a one-timer from the point that beat Annunen glove side. Marco Rossi scored the lone goal of the third period, knocking in a rebound on the power play for the 5-3 final.

Key Takeaways & Notes

• Marchessault's goal was his ninth in the last 10 games, including a five-game goal streak from Dec. 17-27. He now has 14 points (9 goals, 5 assists) in that 10-game span.

• Lauzon left the game with a lower-body injury in the second period and did not return.

Up Next

The Predators continue their six-game road trip Friday with a visit to the Vancouver Canucks. The puck drops at 9 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast regionally on FanDuel Sports Network South and on ESPN+ for out-of-market customers in the United States.

Visit The Hockey News Nashville Predators team site to stay updated on the latest news, game day coverage, player features, podcasts and more.

Recent Predators News

Related: Podcast: Nashville Predators are Feeling the Christmas Blues

Related: Late Penalties Cost Nashville Predators in 3-0 Loss to Winnipeg Jets