If you had to go to bed, you missed an exciting one.
An early power play for the Preds — a tripping penalty by Fabian Zetterlund — let Gus Nyquist start the game off on the right foot, with a power-play goal, and Tommy Novak added a second for the Preds (at even strength this time) just before the five-minute mark.
Filip Forsberg added another on a weird bounce at 6:53, and three consecutive fights immediately broke out, with each beginning as soon as play resumed after the previous stoppage — first Cole Smith against former teammate Luke Kunin, then Michael McCarron against Barclay Goodrow, and finally Zach L’Heureux against Ty Dellandrea.
The Sharks got on the board after that, with a goal from Nikolai Kovalenko during a scramble in the Preds’ end. They continued to attack, hemming the Preds in, and their surging attack — met with little opposition — finally overwhelmed Justus Annunen, as Mario Ferraro cut the Preds’ lead to one at 16:34.
Annunen made several more strong saves to keep the game 3-2 heading into the first intermission, and Forsberg got former teammate Yaroslav Askarov out of position to build on that lead, scoring his second of the night at 1:38 of the second period.
Steven Stamkos made it 5-2 on another successful power play, with Granlund in the box for hooking, and the Preds then killed a penalty of their own with Stamkos in the box. However, before they could fully recover, Henry Thrun made it 5-3.
Just over a minute later Fabian Zetterlund cut the Preds’ lead to one with Annunen trapped completely out of the crease. It looked for a moment like Nashville might challenge for goalie interference, but Nick Blankenburg had been responsible for the pileup that trapped Annunen, so they didn’t try, and play resumed with just over 26 minutes still to go in regulation.
The Preds were promptly faced with another penalty, as Smith was ejected from the game for an illegal check to the head of Ty Dellandrea, and the Preds were shorthanded for five minutes for the accompanying major penalty. McCarron and Timothy Liljegren served coincidental minors for some accompanying hostilities.
Macklin Celebrini tied the game at 15:21. Annunen had been making heroic efforts, but over a minute straight of a barrage from the Sharks, with the Preds unable to clear the zone or even relieve the pressure, was too much. They killed off the rest of the major, and made it to intermission without giving up another goal, but the momentum was not in their favor.
Nashville opened the third with a power play of their own, as Thrum headed off for holding the stick, but missed a 5v3 opportunity when Jake Walman blatantly held Forsberg’s stick and the refs missed it. They were unable to score with their existing 5v4. They got another power play when Barclay Goodrow was caught cross-checking Forsberg, and Fedor Svechkov was able to convert on it to give the Preds the 6-5 lead.
The Sharks rapidly counterattacked, but short-circuited their own attack when Jan Rutta cleared the puck straight over the glass. Mikael Granlund, now with the Sharks, drew a penalty while making a shorthanded attempt, and Stamkos headed to the box for a minute of 4v4.
Annunen absolutely dazzled during the Sharks’ power play, making a series of massive saves — including after he lost hold of his stick — and Blankenburg saved a goal himself while Annunen was lost in the swarm. Annunen finally got a whistle by flinging himself belly-down on the puck. At the other end, as the Preds counterattacked, Askarov made a great save of his own.
With a little under two minutes to go, the Sharks pulled Askarov, and things got even more nerve-wracking. The Preds iced the puck three times, but some diligent work and heroic shot-blocking got them out the other side with two points and no overtime.