The Devils got out to a strong start, with Jack Hughes opening the scoring just 1:49 in, but the Preds did not look inclined to take it lying down. They went on the attack, and a really unfortunate pair of incidents let them tie the game at 8:39. Devils goalie Kaapo Kähkönen got taken out by one of his own teammates, then immediately hit by a Roman Josi slapshot that left him doubled over on the ice in pain as the puck trickled slowly past him into the net. Jake Allen came in in relief.
The Preds continued to pressure as the period continued, getting in Allen’s face and making him work for his saves. He was able to stay perfect to wrap up the period, and the Devils came out more strongly to start the second. Early in the period, Jeremy Lauzon cleared a puck straight into Tommy Novak’s face, taking him off the ice for a scary ten or so game minutes.
New Jersey got a chance on the power play when Colton Sissons headed off for tripping, but although they had some good shots, Juuse Saros was able to make the saves, and Mark Jankowski and Ryan O’Reilly combined for a good shorthanded look as well. Then it was the Preds’ chance for a power play as Jonas Siegenthaler was sent to the box for the same reason, with a similar result–a great save by Allen, a shorthanded look by Ondrej Palat, and no goals for either team.
The Devils kept pushing as the period continued, but Novak almost managed to break the tie on a counterattack, off a sharp pass from Luke Evangelista. Again Allen made a showstopping save, and the energized Preds continued to attack. However, with three seconds left in the period, Lauzon got called for a hold, and the Preds headed to the penalty kill.
Nashville killed it off beautifully, with some absolutely stifling work, but only seconds after Lauzon left the box Saros gave the puck away and Chris Tierney gave the Devils the lead back. That seemed to knock the wind out of the Preds, though a mid-period speech from Andrew Brunette gave them some energy back. Sissons rang iron on a really fantastic chance, and the Preds continued to swarm, but again Allen shut them down.
Not long after, the Preds got another chance on the power play, as Filip Forsberg took a high stick to the face and Kevin Bahl headed to the sin bin for it. The Devils’ penalty kill was aggressive and efficient, with the best chance of the two minutes coming shorthanded, but with a single second left in his penalty kill Simon Nemec cleared the puck over the glass and the Preds got another opportunity.
This time, Luke Evangelista scored, tying the game just seconds into the power play. Play slowed down after that for a bit, as both teams caught their breath and–probably–contemplated the tie point that would come if they didn’t give up a goal before the end of the period. Nico Hischier almost gave the Devils the lead again with just over two minutes left in regulation, but a smart play by Lauzon steered him wide of the net.
Overtime arrived, and the Preds went looking for the second point. Allen had to make a couple of big saves during the first shift, and the Preds had a few more good looks as the overtime period went on, but Saros had some work to do as well. A huge save on Jack Hughes was followed up by Luke Hughes taking a penalty and the Preds getting a power play with thirty seconds left before the shootout.
Saros had to stop a shorthanded 2-on-0 with seconds left in overtime, but he managed it, and the game headed to a shootout, where Saros was perfect and Ryan O’Reilly got one past Allen for the win.