The Nashville Predators fell 4-1 to the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday (Jan. 15) in a game that was closer than the final score would indicate.
Despite the end result, the Predators outshot, out-chanced and outhit the Golden Knights. Nashville had a 35-29 shot advantage, led with 57.75 percent scoring chances and brought the boom with more than twice as many hits as Vegas, led by a career-high 12 from defenseman Jeremy Lauzon.
Related: Predators’ Lauzon Is Earning the Respect – and Fear – He Deserves
“We played a pretty good game,” Predators captain Roman Josi said following the loss. “I felt like especially in the first, 5-on-5, we played really well. Even the second, I liked our second. They made a bit of a push, obviously, because they’re a great team, so that was expected, but we kind of ran out of gas a little bit out there.”
Despite the final score, The Captain felt the team performed well.
Full postgame interview with @LyndsayRowley 👇@PredsNHL l #Preds pic.twitter.com/L59hSDJUl7
— Bally Sports: Preds (@PredsOnBally) January 16, 2024
Josi isn’t wrong; Monday was by no means a bad loss for the Predators. It wasn’t even a bad outing at all, really – it was a solid performance by Nashville against a solid performance by the reigning Stanley Cup champions. Still, even though the former played well and the latter was without its top scorer, the fact that Vegas won Monday’s matchup handily illustrated the disparity between this Predators team and a legitimate Cup contender.
The Predators are a One-Line Team
In Filip Forsberg, Ryan O’Reilly, and Gustav Nyquist, Nashville has one of the best forward lines in the NHL. Among all lines that have played a minimum of 100 minutes together this season, the Predators’ trio ranks in the top 10 in expected goals for (19) with an expected goals percentage of 54.3.
Related: Predators’ Filip Forsberg Named 2024 NHL All-Star
The Predators’ top line is unquestionably one of their strongest assets. But their lack of consistent depth scoring makes it far too easy for opponents to turn that asset into a handicap. On Monday, the Golden Knights completely neutralized the Forsberg-O’Reilly-Nyquist line, holding the trio to 32 percent shot attempts and 25 percent expected goals. The result? Rookie Luke Evangelista scored the Predators’ lone goal in 35 total shots, while Vegas scored four goals with six fewer attempts.
VANGE GOAL pic.twitter.com/lrvAKsqbGP
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL)
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