Mattias Ekholm scored the decisive goal late in the second period as the Nashville Predators secured a 4-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night.
The Predators also received goals from Filip Forsberg, Luke Kunin, and Matt Duchene in their third straight win. Roman Josi contributed two assists, and Juuse Saros made 32 saves.
“I liked the gritty effort from our team. We had to stick with it. It wasn’t an easy game,” said Nashville coach John Hynes.
Jared McCann and Adam Larsson scored for the Kraken.
Seattle came into the game having won three of their last four, one of their best stretches in their inaugural season. The Kraken took an early lead when McCann netted his team-leading 16th goal on a 5-on-3 power play nine minutes into the game.
Nashville equalized 21 seconds before the first intermission with Kunin’s 10th goal, a one-timer from the top of the left circle.
Seattle regained the lead in the second period when Yanni Gourde’s pass from behind the net found Larsson, who scored with 7:39 remaining.
However, Forsberg tied the game 2-2 three minutes later, carrying the puck the length of the ice on a rush and finishing with his 21st goal of the season.
“That shot is unbelievable,” Ekholm said. “You could see his determination skating out from behind the net. No one was catching him, and he just ripped one. Not many players can do that in this league.”
Philipp Grubauer made 23 saves for Seattle, but Kraken coach Dave Hakstol emphasized the need for more from his goaltender.
“The first goal is that it’s a tough time, and he’s got to stop that. The second one as well, even though it’s from a good shooter, it’s from the outside,” Hakstol said. “Those are the kind of plays that can put a team on its heels. Not his best, and he’ll need to be better in Pittsburgh in a few nights.”
The Predators took the lead with 3:30 left in the second period when Ekholm’s wraparound shot deflected off the skate of Seattle defenseman Vince Dunn and into the net.
Nashville added a power-play goal by Duchene with about four minutes remaining in the third period to seal the victory.
“This group has repeatedly shown that no matter the score, we keep fighting and battling,” Ekholm said. “Of course, we’d like to jump out early and hold onto a lead, but sometimes it’s good for the team to go through different scenarios and emotions.”
Game Notes
Nashville recalled forward Cole Smith and defenseman Matt Tennyson from the taxi squad. … Seattle was missing two of its top six defensemen. Jamie Oleksiak (lower body) is day-to-day and missed his fourth straight game. Carson Soucy (lower body) is week-to-week after being injured in the first period of Sunday’s game against Florida. … Kraken forward Joonas Donskoi returned to the lineup after being scratched on Sunday, having played in each of the first 40 games.
UP NEXT
- Nashville: Plays at Edmonton on Thursday.
- Seattle: Plays at Pittsburgh on Thursday.
