Mattias Ekholm spent 719 regular season games and 75 playoff games with the Nashville Predators providing his team with elite defense as one of the league’s most underrated defenders, and on Tuesday he was honored at Bridgestone Arena as a member of the Edmonton Oilers with a video tribute thanking him for his contributions to the organization.
You can make an argument though that the Predators, on the ice, gave him an even bigger unofficial tribute with a sloppy defensive performance early on which highlighted how important he truly was on the back end. The Predators came out early with some good looks and offensive chances, but Edmonton weathered the storm, struck oil, and lit a fuse that saw them catch fire en route to a 6-1 victory over the Predators. The nature of how things played out led to some interesting score effects, and it is a game the team will look to rebound from later in the week.
First Period
Nashville out shot the Oilers 15-11 in the first period, and early on in the period they pushed the tempo and pace looking to get some goals on the board. Filip Forsberg, still pressing for his first goal of the season, had 3 shots on goal and was active in the offensive zone. Roman Josi took an interference penalty at 7:17 of the period, and with 1:06 left on the clock Leon Draisaitl picked up his 3rd goal of the season after being assisted by Zach Hyman and Ryan-Nugent Hopkins.
A few minutes later the Predators drew a penalty of there own, and they even had an extended stint of 6-on-5 play before the Oilers touched the puck. The Predators tallied 3 shots on the power play, but Jack Campbell pushed them aside. Shortly after that, the Oilers scored again with Hyman picking up a goal at 13:38 assisted by Evan Bouchard and Draisaitl. Then Nugent-Hopkins scored at 16:45, assisted by Warren Foegele, and Hyman, and Connor McDavid scored the fourth goal of the period on a broken play after Dante Fabbro over skated a puck.
First periods haven’t been kind to the Predators when they’ve faced off against the Oilers, and lucky for them no more goals came after McDavid’s.
Second Period
For the second period in a row, Nashville out shot the Oilers, and this time it was 18-14. Despite their efforts, it didn’t result in much success on the scoreboard. Kevin Lankinen was sent into action to start the second in an attempt to shake things up for the team, and early on it looked like the move could have the intended effect. The Predators went to the power play early in the period after Connor McDavid took a cross-checking penalty on Luke Evangelista. Tommy Novak made the Oilers pay when he found the back of the net for his second goal of the season with Ryan O’Reilly and Philip Tomasino picking up assists.
Cody Ceci proceeded to hook Gustav Nyquist a little while after the team was back at even strength, and once again the Predators were on the power play. This time the team wasn’t as lucky, and the score remained 4-1.
Just about six minutes later, Draisaitl scored, again, on the tail end of power play they earned when Forsberg slashed Evan Bouchard. Warren Foegele would add the team’s sixth goal of the game at 15:27 of the period, and once again Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman were in the mix picking up points.
Third Period
The final period of play was exactly what you’d expect from a game that was 6-1 heading into it. It was low event cardio in which both sides looked to get out of the game unscathed. The Predators out shot the Oilers 9 to 5 in the final frame, and 42 to 30 overall.
When all was said and done, here’s how each side fared in the team stats department.
The game looks pretty bad with a 6-1 score line, but the game was a little closer than you might think. It could be a byproduct of score effects for much of the second half of the game, but here’s how the Predators looked via Moneypuck’s “Deserve to Win O Meter.”
Had Nashville been able to capitalize on their second power play early into the second period, there’s a chance this game could have turned out a little differently. They weren’t able to do so, and the Oilers scoring really sucked the life out of things.
The Predators are off on Wednesday, and will look to rebound when they head to New York to take on old friend Peter Laviolette and the New York Rangers.
Three Stars of the Game
First Star: Leon Draisaitl, 2 goals and 2 assists
Second Star: Zach Hyman, 1 goal and 3 assists
Third Star: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 1 goal and 2 assists