On Tuesday night in Las Vegas, the Nashville Predators partied like it was March 2023.
Led by three straight goals from Luke Evangelista, Cody Glass and Tommy Novak – three of the young players who helped keep Nashville in playoff contention down the stretch last season when the bulk of the team’s veteran leadership had been either traded or injured – the Predators cruised to a 5-3 victory over the reigning Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights.
“We talked about it all year that secondary scoring is going to be invaluable for us,” Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said. “For them to contribute, hopefully they feel good about themselves, and they can build off [of it].”
Predators Find Their Depth
Aside from an empty-netter by Gustav Nyquist late in the third period, all of Nashville’s goals came from depth forwards – Evangelista and Glass in the first period and Novak and Cole Smith in the second.
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“You need depth in this league,” said Predators captain Roman Josi, who assisted on Nashville’s first two goals. “There’s so many good teams, so many teams with depth. So you need scoring from all four lines. I thought everyone did a great job. Every line did their part tonight, and I think that’s why we’re successful.”
In a season in which nearly half of the Predators’ goals have come from four veterans – Filip Forsberg, Ryan O’Reilly, Nyquist and Josi – the lack of depth scoring has been one of the team’s most glaring shortcomings. Saturday night served as both a reminder of the youth movement that fueled the exciting back half of Nashville’s 2022-23 season and a glimpse of the current team’s scoring potential when all four forward lines contribute.
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“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,” Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Their depth guys, I thought, were a little better than our depth guys; the middle of the pack guys.”
Evangelista Makes History
Evangelista opened the scoring just over five minutes into the game with a wrist shot from just outside the right circle. It was his second goal in as many games and his 11th of the season, which ranks sixth among all NHL rookies. The forward, who turns 22 on Wednesday, has scored six goals since Jan. 1, which ranks second among rookies behind the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Dmitri Voronkov (7).
Per NHL PR, Evangelista became the third player in Predators history to reach 40 points (18 goals, 22 assists in 78 games) as a rookie, joining Forsberg (69) and Tanner Jeannot (48). He had 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 24 games last season.
Glass Gets a Goal
Glass scored the go-ahead goal with less than one minute remaining in the first period to give the Predators a 2-1 lead. It was his second goal of the season and his first since Dec. 19 – and it came against the team that selected him sixth overall in the 2017 NHL Draft.
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Glass, who signed a two-year, $5 million contract extension over the summer, missed significant time during the first half of the season when he spent two separate stints on injured reserve (IR) – first, for a knee injury and later for a shoulder injury. He has struggled to find consistency this season, but he now has three points (one goal, two assists) in his last four games.
“I’m really happy for him,” Brunette said. “It’s been a tough year with his injuries and getting back on track, and to score here on the team that drafted him I’m sure feels good. And his game is getting better. Now, can we get a little traction on it and keep growing it?”
Lankinen Doesn’t Miss a Beat
Kevin Lankinen helped Nashville hold off the defending Stanley Cup champions, making 23 saves in his first start between the pipes since Jan. 27.
“[Lankinen] was awesome,” Brunette said. “He was everything you could ask for and more from a goaltending performance tonight.”
Lankinen allowed two goals in the third period but was able to protect the Predators’ lead until the end. This was his first win since Jan. 12, though it was also just his third appearance in that span after making a relief appearance against the Dallas Stars on Feb. 15. He is now 7-4-0 with a 3.32 goals-against average and a .888 save percentage over 16 appearances this season.
Up Next
The Predators will look to continue their road trip with a third straight win on Thursday when they face the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena.