Predators overcome the Golden Knights with the help of depth scoring.
The Predators’ head coach Andrew Brunette stated, “We talked about it all year that secondary scoring is going to be invaluable for us.” “I hope that by contributing, they will feel good about themselves and be able to build on it.”
Hunters Discover Their Depth
Nashville’s goals came from depth forwards, Evangelista and Glass in the first period and Novak and Cole Smith in the second, with the exception of an empty-net goal by Gustav Nyquist late in the third.
Roman Josi, the captain of the Predators and a playmaker on Nashville’s first two goals, stated, “You need depth in this league.” “There are a ton of strong, deep teams out there. Thus, you must score on each of the four lines. I felt that everyone performed admirably. I believe that our achievement today is due to the contributions made by each line.
The absence of depth scoring in a season where the four veterans (Filip Forsberg, Ryan O’Reilly, Nyquist, and Josi) have contributed to almost half of the Predators’ goals has been one of their most glaring deficiencies. The youth movement drove Nashville’s exciting second half of the 2022–23 season, and Saturday night’s performance gave fans a sneak peek at the team’s scoring potential when all four forward lines contributed.
The Vegas head coach, Bruce Cassidy, stated, “If you look at the game, it was their depth guys that scored, and it wasn’t O’Reilly’s line that beat us tonight.” “I felt that their depth players—the middle of the pack guys—were a little better than our depth players.”
Evangelista Creates History
A wrist shot from just outside the right circle by Evangelista gave the team the lead a little over five minutes into the contest. His 11 goals this season, which rank sixth among all NHL rookies, were his second goal in as many games. The forward, who turns 22 on Wednesday, has scored six goals since January 1st, second only to Dmitri Voronkov of the Columbus Blue Jackets (7) among rookie goals scored.
Evangelista joined Forsberg (69) and Tanner Jeannot (48) as the only other Predators players to earn 40 points (18 goals, 22 assists in 78 games) as a rookie, according to NHL PR. Last season, he finished with 15 points (8 assists and 7 goals) in 24 games.
Glass Scores a Point
With less than a minute left in the first period, Glass scored the game-winning goal to give the Predators a 2-1 lead. It occurred against the team that took him sixth overall in the 2017 NHL Draft, and it was his first goal of the season and his first since December 19.
Glass lost a lot of time in the first half of the season due to two separate stays on injured reserve (IR)—one for a knee ailment and the other for a shoulder issue. Glass inked a two-year, $5 million contract deal over the summer. Although he has had difficulty staying consistent this season, he has already recorded three points in his previous four games (one goal and two assists).
“I’m very pleased for him,” Brunette remarked. “His injuries have made it difficult for him to get back on track this year, so I’m sure it feels nice to score here for the team that drafted him. And he’s growing better at his game. Can we now start to gain some traction and continue to build it?
Lankinen Is Never Alarmed
Kevin Lankinen, who made 23 stops in his first start in goal since January 27, assisted Nashville in holding off the reigning Stanley Cup winners.
“[Lankinen was] fantastic,” Brunette exclaimed. “His goaltending tonight was everything and more than you could ask for.”
Despite giving up two goals in the third quarter, Lankinen managed to hold onto the Predators’ lead until the very end. Although it was only his third game in that time since making a relief appearance against the Dallas Stars on February 15, this was his first victory since January 12. After 16 games this season, he is now 7-4-0 with a 3.32 goals-against average and a.888 save percentage.
At Crypto.com Arena on Thursday, the Predators will try to make it three straight wins on their road trip against the Los Angeles Kings.