Jakub Vrana scored his first goal as a member of the Predators, but Nashville fell to the Anaheim Ducks by a 2-1 final on Friday night at Honda Center. The result brings an end to a four-game win streak for the Preds as they began a back-to-back set in Southern California.
“It's disappointing,” Preds Alternate Captain Ryan O’Reilly said. “We had some opportunities to bury some goals, and we didn't get those… We didn't give up a ton tonight…but a couple of mistakes killed us. I know for myself, I didn't like my game. I didn't nearly create enough… I know I can do a lot better, so it's kind of frustrating that way, because it was there for us. But we’re back at it tomorrow, we have to take this with us, make our adjustments, and get ready for more.”
“I really liked our effort,” Preds head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “I thought we did enough good things to win the game, pucks didn’t go in, and when we had a breakdown, kind of bad luck on the first [goal], the second one was probably poorly played. And unfortunately, it's kind of been a little bit of the story of a lot of nights this year…kind of peaked its ugly head again today.”
Nashville outshot Anaheim by a 29-15 margin on the night, but the Preds were only able to solve the opposition once. Neither team found the back of the net in the game’s opening 20 minutes, and although the Predators certainly had their chances, Anaheim scored the game’s first goal in the middle period as Troy Terry beat Juuse Saros.
But in the final frame, Vrana’s blast from the point on the power play hit the glove of Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal and trickled over the line to even the score at 1-1. However, the Predators were unable to convert on a subsequent 5-on-3 advantage, and minutes later, Alex Killorn gave Anaheim the final lead of the night.
Michael Bunting, who was acquired last week from Pittsburgh, was activated from Injured Reserve and made his Nashville debut on Friday. The winger registered one shot in 15 minutes of ice time - with some time on the man advantage as well.
“He’s always great,” O’Reilly said of Bunting. “Having played with him in Toronto, and knowing just the player he is, the intensity he plays with, I thought he did a great job. He brings a lot of life to our group, just the intensity, the way he works. It's always great to see him out there.”
The Predators will now head north to Los Angeles in preparation for a meeting with the Kings on Saturday evening, and they’re hopeful a similar showing will bring about a different result.
“I’d like to see the same effort,” Brunette said. “I thought we managed the game really well. It's kind of disheartening to [see the] mistake we made at the end.”
Notes:
With Bunting making his Predators debut, the Predators went back to a lineup of 12 forwards and six defensemen; blueliner Andreas Englund served as the lone healthy scratch for the visitors.
The Predators will conclude their three-game trip through California tomorrow evening in Los Angeles against the Kings before returning to Nashville to start a three-game homestand on Tuesday.
