Jonathan Marchessault scored in his return to Vegas, but the Nashville Predators fell to the Golden Knights by a 5-3 final on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena. The result sees the Preds conclude their 2024-25 road schedule with a loss in Vegas with just two games remaining on the campaign.
Jordan Oesterle and Marc Del Gaizo also tallied for the visitors, but after the Predators fought back to tie the game in the third period, Vegas scored the winner with less than two minutes to play to halt Nashville’s comeback attempt.
“I think as a team, it was a disappointing effort the first two periods,” Marchessault said. “I think they were all over us, and we couldn't manage to make a play, really. We kind of battled back, and give credit to one of the best teams in the League. They find a way to win hockey games, and they got the fourth goal, and we couldn't come back there.”
“It was men against boys early,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “I didn't think we were skating... throwing pucks away. It wasn't who we were for the first two periods or the first half of the game. I thought in the third period we started playing hockey. They're a really good team. They force you into a lot of those mistakes. But we just kind of weren't ready for the pace of the game and for the lack of space out there. So then the battle back was great. Showed the resilience, and no quit, and then unfortunately, one bad shift, and that’s all she wrote.”
Nashville had a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes courtesy of a one-timer from Oesterle that found its way past Adin Hill off the rush, but Vegas countered with three goals of their own in the second stanza from Brett Howden, Nicolas Roy and Alexander Holtz for a 3-1 advantage.
But just as they did on Thursday in Utah, the Preds responded with a pair of goals early in the final frame. First, Zach L’Heureux took a dish from Marchessault, made a beautiful spin move on his way to the net and threw a pass back for No. 81 in white, and the former Golden Knight buried the feed.
Then, less than four minutes later, Andreas Englund threw the puck toward the net, and Del Gaizo was down low for a redirect off of his stick to even the score at 3-3. But with 1:55 remaining in regulation, Noah Hanifin’s shot beat Justus Annunen to put Vegas back on top for good before they potted an empty-netter to finish the night.
“We’re not going to quit, and we didn't quit again tonight,” Brunette said. “Just really disappointing, how we let a goal in late in the game, and a lot of breakdowns on that shift, and could have kept that tight. I'd like our chances in overtime and a shootout, but unfortunately, we gave them one there.”
The Preds will now head home with just two games remaining in the 2024-25 campaign - a pair of opportunities to finish strong before the offseason arrives.
“We're still trying to hang on to something here down the stretch,” Brunette said. “There’s a couple home games; we can get a good feeling before we break for the summer. You're always going to remember your last couple, so hopefully we play the right way. We'll get excited to play and try to end on the right note.”
Notes:
Saturday marked Preds forward Michael McCarron’s 300th NHL game.
The Predators will now head home for their final two contests of the season - Monday against Utah before the finale on Wednesday versus Dallas.
