Carolina Hurricanes Fall To Nashville Predators 5-3

Introduction

History was made in an eventful matchup in the wonderful city of Raleigh, North Carolina. With an absurd 67 shots on goal, the Carolina Hurricanes managed to still end up on the losing end with a 5-3 loss to the Nashville Predators. History was made in this process as Nashville goaltender Jusse Saros had himself a great night. Max Pacioretty also made his anticipated debut and looked sharp in his first game in black and red. Also, Nino Niederreiter makes his return back to Raleigh. Unfortunately, it resulted in a loss, but that is okay. 

Game Summary

First Period

The first period saw both teams trade goals. Carolina got the home crowd into it early. After cycling the puck down low, a Brett Pesce blast deflects off Paul Statsny for the lead. The Predators tied the game with a power-play goal of their own. Premiere sniper Filip Forsberg sniped a shot past Kochetkov for the tying goal. And as things began, the team’s headed to the second period tied. 

Second Period

The second period became a much higher-scoring affair. Each team went on to score a pair of goals. Brady Skjei got things going early. Thirty-five seconds into the period, he finished off a beautiful passing play by Brett Pesce to break the tie. A Mattias Ekholm snapshot found its way to the back of the net, but here comes the captain. Jesper Fast sprung Jordan Staal, and he went bar down on Saros to break the tie yet again. But a roaring Predators squad tied the game once again. Cody Glass wristed a shot past Kotchetkov to tie the game. Same as the first, this game was headed to the next period tied. 

Third Period

This period was all Nashville and became the Jusse Saros show. Mark Jankowski tipped in a Ryan Johansen shot to break the tie. Saros would get peppered the rest of the way but stood tall in net. An empty net goal would seal the deal, and Carolina would go on to lose their second straight game. 

Game Notes

• Brett Pesce had himself a multi-point outing. He had two assists and fired the second most shots on goal with 7. 

• Jusse Saros was phenomenal. Aside from making history, he was sharp in the game. He stopped 64 of 67 shots for a .955 save percentage. Despite allowing three goals, he finished with 3.09 goals saved above expected. 

• Carolina dominated the game. They had the better possession (68.97 CF) and the majority of the expected goal share (73.05). Of the 67 shots on goal, 23 of them were in high danger (all three goals as well). 

• Max Pacioretty had himself a debut. With him on the ice, the team generated 18 shots as opposed to 8 against. He finished with the 9th best CF (69.23) and had an expected goals rate of 61.48% when on the ice. Awesome for a guy coming back from an Achilles injury. 

What Lies Ahead 

The Carolina Hurricanes hit the road to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets Saturday.

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