Zach L’Heureux scored the lone Nashville goal as the Predators fell to the Philadelphia Flyers by a 2-1 final on Monday night at Wells Fargo Center. The result sees the Preds extend their skid to three games as they start their three-game road trip.
The Predators outshot the Flyers by a 29-18 margin and were largely pleased with their effort once more as they dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen due to injuries, but the scoreboard wasn’t tilted in their favor to start the first half of a back-to-back set.
“I thought we battled hard,” L’Heureux said. “At least we had our chances, and unfortunately, couldn't capitalize. But I think we've been playing some good hockey lately and falling short, so I'm just trying to stay positive, and obviously we'll turn the page now and focus on tomorrow [against Columbus].”
“I loved our effort,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “I thought we were on top of pucks all game. We're on our toes, we're in their zone. The one that really hurt was [when] we tied it, and 34 seconds later [they score]... I thought we played a really good game. We didn't give up a whole lot of room, and we had the puck a lot. We just didn't capitalize on the chances we had.”
Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the opening 20 minutes, but in the second stanza, the Flyers struck first with a goal from Ryan Poehling to finish off an effective passing play.
Just minutes later, Michael McCarron drove to the net, and with the puck loose in front, L’Heureux pounced to beat Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov and score his first goal since before Christmas with his dad just feet away in the stands. The emotion for L’Heureux was magnified with the recent loss of his grandmother, and although he would’ve preferred a win, the goal was still meaningful for the rookie.
“Anytime you have family in town, you try to play your heart out for them,” L’Heureux said. “It's been an emotional past week for myself, so to have him in the building [was nice], and obviously getting a goal was pretty special. It's been a grind. It hasn’t been easy to get no points and produce. I feel like I'm doing all the right things. The last few games, I've had a few chances, now. So that goal is huge for the confidence. I wish we could have obviously gotten the win. But you know, in front of my dad too, is special.”
“I thought he's been really good the last couple of games,” Brunette said of L’Heureux. “Probably deserved to get one the other night. And tonight, he was all over the puck. When he’s skating, and he's on top of things like he was tonight he's going to get opportunities to score… And happy for him. Obviously, it's a tough time for a young player to go through. I think he's supported by the organization, our team, our players, and obviously to have his parents come here tonight, and score a goal, it's pretty cool.”
However, less than a minute later, the Flyers regained the lead as Jamie Drysdale beat Justus Annunen on a broken play. The Predators had their chances in the final period, but they were unable to solve the Flyers again before the night was done.
“I feel like every game now, [we’ve been] playing good hockey,” L’Heureux said. “So we're making plays. We're getting our chances, and sometimes just a little bit of that puck luck, or we're shooting ourselves in the foot with one mistake. So it's tough, but we just got to, like I said, turn the page, focus on the next game, and take the positives away that we have from this game.”
Notes:
Prior to Monday’s game, the Predators announced both Colton Sissons (week-to-week) and Jonathan Marchessault (day-to-day) would miss time with lower-body injuries. As a result, the Preds went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen against the Flyers with all of their healthy players dressed.
Preds defenseman Jordan Oesterle appeared in his 400th NHL game.
Nashville’s trip will continue tomorrow in Columbus before concluding Thursday in Dallas. Tomorrow’s game against the Blue Jackets will also come as an animated feature with “Music City Hockey in Smashville” on NewsChannel 5 in Nashville. Click here for more information.
