Juuse Saros With 64 saves, the Nashville Predators set a franchise record in Thursday’s 5-3 victory against Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena.
For the Preds Saros made 28 saves during the third period. This was a significant improvement on their season record of 17-14-6 and 5-1-2 in the last eight games. His 64 saves tied him for third in NHL history. They were also the most by any League goaltender since Ron Tugnutt’s record 70 in March 1991 for Quebec.
THE STORY
Carolina was the first to score on the power-play when a Brett Pesce goal from the point was deflected off Paul Stastny. The puck went in at 7:41 in the second period. The Preds followed up with a power play goal of their own a few minutes later. Juuso Parssinen Set up Filip Forsberg For a wrist shot, make it 2-2 at 10.29
Carolina’s Brady Skjei scored just 35 seconds into second period. He reversed a setup by Brett Pesce and retook the 2-1 lead. Nashville was quick to respond. Mattias Ekholm To tie the game at 2:47, a draw was made in an offensive zone.
At 9:54 in the second period, Carolina took a 3-2 lead thanks to Jordan Staal’s partial breakaway. However, the Preds tied the game at 11:55. Mikael Granlund To get feed, go behind the net Cody GlassNashville’s third goal was scored by, who made it in at the post.
Mark Jankowski Tiped in at 5:06 of third period, the tie was broken. Ryan Johansen Shot from the wall to give Preds 4-3 lead Colton Sissons The 5-3 final was won by the unopposed goal with just three seconds left.
Video: [email protected]. Saros sets a franchise record with 64 saves
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Juuse All-Staros
Saros saved 64 shots in the win, a record for his franchise. This surpasses his previous career high of 49 (2020-21). Shots were 67-25 for the Hurricanes.
Saros has been announced by the NHL tonight via ESPN to be named to the Central Division roster of the 2023 NHL All-Star Game. This is Saros’ second career NHL All-Star Game roster nod after being chosen to represent Predators in Las Vegas’ 2022 edition.
Big Filly Style
Forsberg’s power play goal in the first period extended his point streak at four games (6g-3a), dating back to Dec. 27, vs. Dallas. Forsberg was the NHL’s First Star of the week for the week ending January 1. He led the league in goals (55) and points (77) during the week. Forsberg also posted back-toback three-point performances on Friday at Anaheim (1g-2a), and Saturday at Vegas (3g).
Video: [email protected]. Forsberg tie the game at 1-1 with a 1st PPG
Forsberg has scored 30 points (13g-17a), in his 30 most recent games, dating back to Oct. 22, vs. Philadelphia. Forsberg leads the Predators this season with 33 points (14g-19a), and his 14 goals are a team record.
Ekky’s Equalizer
Ekholm’s second-period goal gave him three points (2g-1a) after he scored a goal and assisted Tuesday against Montreal. Parsinen had assists on both Forsberg’s goal and Ekholms goal, making it his fourth multi-point season in the NHL.
Video: [email protected]. Ekholm launches an slap shot in 2nd for a goal
Granny Apples
Granlund’s feed of Glass from behind the web in the second period, was truly stunning. Granlund now has a tie with Roman Josi With 21 assists, the team is leading in assists.
Video: [email protected] Glass Scores in the Second Period
El Nino Returns
Nino NiederreiterAfter an in-arena tribute during the first TV Timeout, a standing ovation was given to Corey, who played parts of four seasons for Carolina between 2019-22. Niederreiter had a total of 137 points during his time in Carolina (69g-68a).
THEY SAY IT
Juuse Saros Stopping a franchise-high 64 shots
“It’s a pleasant feeling, but most importantly to get the two points. It was a sweaty evening, but it was nice to win… That was kinda the theme of this game and they’re that type of team too. It wasn’t going to slow down, I guess.
Video: [email protected]. Saros shuts Svechnikov down in the 1st
Mattias Elkholm, Juuse Saros’ historical performance:
“He is our best player, that’s why we selected him.” [for the All-Star Game]. He does it every night. We’ve been playing better as a team lately, but there was a stretch when we were stuck in a rut. He’s not been in that rut this year. I feel like he has kept us in the game, and even though our games have been poor, he has always been there to rescue us. As a team, you are very grateful for guys like this. In my career, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to play with them. [Pekka Rinne] Juuse has been playing for quite some time and now they’re doing it the same way. He is our best player. He deserves to be there.
Mark Jankowski on Juuse Saros’ performance:
“Juice was incredible. He is an All-Star because of that. He played an amazing game. I don’t know about the guys, but I didn’t look at the shot clock during this game. It was almost as if they were just shooting all the shots and not looking at anything. They can tell the story with their shots. Juice was amazing, and on the high-quality opportunities that they had, he held his own.
John Hynes, Juuse Saros Head Coach on Juuse’s performance
“Juice performed really well. They put a lot of pressure upon him and he made several big saves. He’s a star of our team, and he played like it tonight.”
John Hynes, Nashville’s Head Coach, discusses the effort against Carolina.
“It was excellent. While it was not the best game, I think you will have times throughout the season when you are able to play well and lose a game or you may be in a game where you can get an incredible goaltending performance. We scored four goals again. That’s important. We have to learn from this game and be prepared for Washington.
Mattias Ekholm reflects on Nashville’s performance against Carolina
“We know how to get there.” [Carolina] They want to play, and they want to score a lot of goals. It doesn’t usually matter how well you play. It’s always going to be lopsided. Maybe it was a bit too much tonight. Our goaltender stood tall and held us up, until the end. It is not an easy building to get out of points. We have seen the results of their efforts in recent months, so we are very happy with the points. Sometimes it doesn’t look pretty every day for a year. But you have to dig some holes. It was nice that we did it tonight.
NEXT
Friday will see the Preds continue their road trip with a visit at the Washington Capitals. Puck drops at 6:05 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast live on Bally Sports South 102.5 The Game, El Jefe Radio.
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