The Preds got off to a strong start to the matinee, pressuring Stars goalie Scott Wedgewood early. Matt Duchene got a tribute video at an early stoppage, and the Stars pushed back not long after, with one particularly massive shift that had the Preds scrambling until they could get a clear. Nashville responded, getting back into the offensive zone but not getting anything past Wedgewood.
Another great shift by the Stars had Juuse Saros scrambling forward to make several consecutive saves, while Roman Josi got behind him in the net just in case. It paid off, as Josi managed to catch the third attempt with his glove, then tossed the puck away to minimize the chance he’d get caught for holding the puck in the crease.
The shot was reviewed, though primarily to see if the puck crossed the goal line, and not called back.
Nashville scored early in the second, a chaotic shot that was eventually credited to Michael McCarron, and Dallas immediately pushed back hard. The Preds and Saros were hard at work blocking shots and making saves as the Stars hemmed them into their zone, eventually culminating in a McCarron penalty for hooking.
The Preds were able to kill it off, and the Stars finally killed their own continuing momentum as Tyler Seguin tripped Kiefer Sherwood. Some sharp play right off the faceoff set Colton Sissons up to score the Preds’ second goal of the afternoon at 6:33.
That slowed the Stars down for a bit and let the Preds catch their breath, but Dallas wasn’t willing to stay down for long.
Saros had to make another spectacular save on Duchene as the Stars cranked up the pressure, and McCarron was goaded into another penalty with just over two minutes left in the period. Nashville produced a really diligent penalty kill, working hard to get clears and keep possession, and killed it off, with Duchene getting another shot just before the buzzer sounded. Saros made the save just in time, from the bottom of a pile of bodies, and the Preds escaped to intermission.
The Preds started the third with a little more jump, but couldn’t keep it up. Dallas piled on the attack and finally got a shot past Saros at 8:22, with Evgeny Dadanov taking advantage of a very good sequence that drew him out of position to get the puck into a wide-open net.
While the Preds got a chance on the power play when Jamie Benn took a penalty, they weren’t able to convert, and Dallas’s stifling even-strength defense suppressed them after the teams returned to even strength as well. The Stars pulled Wedgewood at an alarmingly early point, adding to the work for the Preds and Saros; Filip Forsberg rang iron on the empty net.
Nashville defended valiantly against the extra attacker, making the Stars work hard to return to the zone, but with 13 seconds remaining in regulation Craig Smith pounced on a rebound and tied the game up, and with two seconds Jani Hakanpää added a third goal to give the Stars a win and deprive the Preds of even a single point.
The Preds will be back in action Wednesday against the Carolina Hurricanes.