Nashville Predators strong end to Game 1 translates to Game 2 victory

The Nashville Predators gathered momentum in the third period of Game 1 on Sunday, which helped them win Game 2.

The Arizona Coyotes 1-0 series lead was quickly erased by the Nashville Predators in Game 2. The Predators started hot and didn’t look back, evening the series at one game apiece. The game began with a Filip Forsberg penalty only five seconds into the game, but after a penalty kill by the Preds, and later by the Coyotes, Nashville broke through first with a goal by Nick Bonino.

Minutes later, Ryan Johansen added another goal, giving the Predators a 2-0 lead, despite being out-shot 8-3 at that point in the game. The shot chart stayed one-sided (14-5) for the remainder of the period, but Nashville held its lead.

Calle Jarnkrok extended that lead in the early stages of the second period to 3-0. That is what the score would remain in a period where the Predators settled in and controlled the play.

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The third period offered more of the same for Nashville, as the ice continued to be tilted in its favor. The lone marker of the period for the Preds was courtesy of Viktor Arvidsson. The Coyotes, however, found a way to sneak in two quick goals at the end of the game from Clayton Keller and Lawson Crouse. While the goals came far too late for Arizona, they give the Yotes a little life heading into a decisive Game 3 tilt.

Ultimately, it was lackluster performances in Game 2 by players that had strong outings on Sunday for the Coyotes that resulted in the loss. Taylor Hall skated well and recorded two assists in Game 1, but had a minus-2 rating and eight penalty minutes on Tuesday. Goaltender Darcy Kuemper was better as the game went on, but conceding three goals on the first nine shots of the game put his team behind early.

There were times in the first period where Arizona put some pressure on Nashville, but thanks to immense improvement by the Predators as a defensive unit, the Coyotes were never really able to get anything going.

The Predators got big performances from Nick Bonino and Juuse Saros to propel the team to a win. Bonino, who opened the scoring, also added five blocked shots and helped the Preds kill three penalties. Saros held off the Coyotes’ first period pressure and took a shutout into the final minutes of the contest.

As a team, Nashville won 66.7% of the faceoffs, blocked 21 shots, and out-shot their opponents 23-12 after the first period.

Overall, the game took on a much more defensive look than the first game of the series did, and the Predators were opportunistic. The only real downside was the inability to finish on a strong note. Watch for that to help Arizona get off to a faster start in Game 3. It will be a quick turnaround for these teams, as the next game is less than 24 hours away.