Takeaways From Predators’ 5-4 OT Loss to the Maple Leafs

The Nashville Predators (1-1-1) were very close to winning their road debut against the bulked-up Toronto Maple Leafs. They showed it early, taking a 3-0 second-period lead with a goal from Steven Stamkos and two from Nils Hoglander. Toronto answered with a goal by John Tavares and another by William Nylander on the power play, but Nashville still earned a 4-2 lead on another goal by Steven Stamkos.

Then the bottom fell out completely. Gavin McKenna put his first career goal in with 29 seconds left in the second, then in the third, at 8:54, Jack Roslovic scored his first goal in a Toronto Maple Leafs uniform to tie it at four. In overtime, with 14 seconds left to go, Auston Matthews put on the superman cape, scoring the game-winner to make it 5-4.

First Overall Picks Come to Play

In a way, this game was a battle of No. 1 picks duking it out. Toronto had the upper hand in that regard; Gavin McKenna had his first career goal and an assist, John Tavares had a goal as well, and Auston Matthews earned a goal and three assists in this game.

Nashville, however, earned a lot of contribution from No. 1 pick Steven Stamkos. He had two goals in the game, and now he’s averaging a goal per game. Considering he had 42 goals last season, he’s stilll maintaining the pace he had that season. It’s a great start, but Toronto won the No. 1 pick battle.

Nils Hoglander Had the Game of His Life

Nashville’s biggest contributor of the night was arguably Nils Hoglander. He looks reformed from his time with the Vancouver Canucks, and he had a big game in this one. He had two goals in this game, his first multi-goal game since March 23, 2024.

Hoglander now has three goals in the first three games, and you have to wait even longer to find a time when he had a goal in two straight games. He had a goal in three straight games between Feb. 10 and Feb. 13, 2024. Safe to say, this was a special game from Hoglander, and he might really be a different player in Nashville.

Back End Is in Bad Shape

You can see Nashville building a 3-0 lead over the highly talented Toronto Maple Leafs as a good thing. Still, it’s hard to feel like they got something out of this win, and unfortunately, it was the back end that cost them the game.

Brady Skjei had multiple moments where it looked like he was defending nothing. Nick Perbix, Nicholas Hague, and Adam Wilsby had some rough moments on the back end. Roman Josi had a rare ugly game. The only major positive contributor was Jack Achan.

That’s not to say the forwards weren’t blameless either. Alex Kerfoot finished with a minus-2 plus/minus, while Jonathan Marchessault, Ross Colton, and Jack Drury all took rough penalties. Drury’s hooking call helped the Maple Leafs score a goal

Juuse Saros was excellent despite the .865 save percentage. He had an incredible save in overtime against Toronto on a 3-on-0 attack. Still, he couldn’t stop the deficiencies in Nashville’s own zone by the skaters. With the trade talks intensifying with Alexander Nikishin and Simon Edvinsson, the Predators could use a jolt to their back end.

“I thought we weren’t quite battle-ready on the puck,” said Brunette. “It’s early in the season, but we’re not in a luxury to wait on this. We lost too many puck battles.”

Schedule

The Predators continue their road trip for two games. They play the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, Oct. 8, and the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 10. After that, they play three straight home games against the Vegas Golden Knights (Oct. 13), San Jose Sharks (Oct. 15), and St. Louis Blues (Oct. 17).